* . ^ >^' 
















^V^. 










. V c « '^' ^ -? -^ 









■<y//l\)2^ ^ .<L> 'rU 






&%^ 













"oo^ 



xOo 



^4: ■"-•^^' ;A %^^- 




' A^^ ^ , . % * -0 s , V. , 



.# 




THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



THE 



GOLDEN AMERICAS 



A STORY OF 



GEEAT DISCOVEEIES AND DAEING DEEDS. 



/ 



By JOHN TILLOTSON. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH 

MANY ENGRAVINGS FROM DESIGNS BY EMINENT ARTISTS. 




LONDON: 
AY A E D , LOCK, AND TYLER, 

WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW. 

3U^ ^. 






LOXrON : 

rniNXED BY JAS, WADE, 

TAA'UTCCK STKEET, COTENX GARDEN. 



i-^m^ 



CUNTEKTS 



CHAPTEE I. 

Golden Ophir— Prhice Henry — Tlie Impassable Cape— Cliristoplier Columbus — 
Tbe Council of Salamanca — The Discovery of the West Indies and Mainland 
of America — The Penalty of Success— ISTunez and the South Sea . rage 1 

CHAPTEE II. 

The Messengers of Xunez arrive too late — Pedi-arias de Avihi — Fifteen Hundred 
Gentlemen on the Look-out for Gold — Famine — The Eequisition — Caribs — A 
Little Affair at Santa Martha — ISTunez Summoned to the Presence of the 
Governor — Burning a Cacique — Gaspar de Morales in the Quest of Pearls- 
Promotion of Is nnez — A Ne-w Governor — Nunez Beheaded — Spanish Cruelties 
■ — Las Casas — Cardinar Ximenes — His Benevolent Intentions -vrith regard 
to the Indians — The Pope's BuU — Magellan 33 

CHAPTEE III. 

Herman Cortes finds favour Tvith Ovando. — Serves under Velasquez — The 
Exploruig of Mexico — Touches at Cozumel — Finds an Interpreter — Tabasco 
— A Battle and a Victory — Female Slaves — San Juan de UUoa — Deputies — A 
Message to the King — The King's Ansvrer — The March upon Mexico — Monte- 
zuma — A Bold Expedient — Battles — Triumph of the Spanish Ai-ms in Mexico 
—End of Cortes 59 



CHAPTEE IV. 

Francisco Pizai-ro and the Discovery of Peru — Advances into the Country — The 
Incas — March upon St. Miguel de Caxamarca — Description of the City — The 
Meeting with the Inca — Pizarro's Perfidy— Cruel Massacre of the Peruvians — 
Seizui-e and Imprisonment of the Inca — Enormous Eansom Demanded and 
Agreed to — Pizarro's Eefusal to fulfil his Promise — Fate of the Inca — Berral- 
cazar attacks Quito — Quarrel vrith Alvarado — Arrangements for the Govern- 
ment of Peru — Almagi-o Marches on Chili — The Siege of Cuzco — Negotiations 
between Pizan-o and Almagro — Treachery — End of Pizarro « , .92 



(CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

" Gaping" after the Wealth of the Incas— Proposition of Martin de Suza— Con- 
cerning Alexis Garcia — Lost — George Sedentio in Search of Garcia — A 
Deceitfiil Act— Discovery of the Silver River— Taking Possession— Wild 
Stories of the Gold Regions — Mendoza and his Followers — Some Account of 
Buenos Ayres as it was — The Story of Maldeneda— Lion's Gratitude — How 
St. Blaze fought for Corpus Christi— A Solemn Fast— The Religious Element 
in the Search for Gold — Up the River— Paradise and its People . Page HI 

CHAPTER YI. 

The Aztecs — Great CiviHsation among the People — Manners, Government, Laws, 
Literatm-e, Art, ReHgion— The Spanish Conquest— Rule of the Spaniards- 
Sad Condition of the People — Three Hundred Years of Oppression— State of 
the Country — Physical Geography, &c. — Maximilian — Narrative of the Coun- 
tess of Kollonitz 131 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Golden Brazils — Extent of the Country — Political Di\ision of Castes— Idleness 
and Yanity — Sugar Plantations — The Pardos, or Mulattoes — Creoles — Slavery 
• — Mode of obtaining Liberty — Wild Hordes, their Habits, &c. — Explorations 
by Mr. Bates — Primeval Forests — Afloat on the King of Rivers — Concerning 
the Fauna of the Country 172 

CHAPTER YIIL 

About the Discovery of the Brazils — Yanez Pinion; also concerning Alvarez 
Cabral and the King of Portugal — A Promising Cargo — Amerigo Yespucci — 
Prosperity of the Settlements — Bahia — Rio — Customs of the Country — 
Natives — River Nanny — Man-eaters — Nothing in the Way of Trade — Forest 
Land— Odd Sort of Etiquette — Amazons — Disagreeable Predicament with 
the Ladies 193 

CHAPTER IX. 

What we knew of the Fauna of Brazil Two Hundred Years Ago — Indian Sala- 
mander — Serpents — Rattlesnake — Its Poisonous Sting — The Serpent Quaker 
— A Big Swallow — Good for Food — A Sting and its Cure — Like Cures Like 
—Cobra Yerde — The Kaniana — The Iron Pig of Brazil — All about Everything 
in Brazil, but according to a Yery Old Authority 216 

CHAPTER X. 

A Voyage in the ship Phantasm — The Organ Mountains— Splendid Panorama — 
Taking in Coal — Exempt from Customs — Hospitable Entertainment — A Dance 
of "Niggers" — The Bay — The Peak of Corcovado — Railways — Rio — In the 
Markets — In the Woods — Amongst the Palms — A Forest Full of Monkeys — 
Out on the broad Amazon — Native Indians — A Dance and a Challenge — 
Rehgious Festivity — The Altar of the Household — Turtle's Eggs — Aquatic 
Birds— On the Negro — ^Victoria Regia — The Land of Pahna . . . 228 



CONTENTS. vii 



CHAPTER XI. 



A Land but Little Known — More about Chili — Pizarro and Almagro — Climate — 
Earthquakes — Yolcanoes — The Mines — Ascent of the Cordilleras — Physical 
Geography of the Country— Modes of Communication — Eope Bridges — 
Eugged Roads — Travelling on Man-lack — Utility of the Banana — Valpa- 
raiso — Mineral Wealth of the High Chains of the Andes — Oddities in 
Farming Page 263 

CHAPTER XII. 

South American Llanos— Herds of Oxen— The Mirage— Wild Horses— Dry and 
Rainy Seasons — Overflow of the Rivers — Crocodile and Jaguar — The Gym- 
notus — The Pampas — Sir Francis Head's Account — The Gauchos Preparing 
for War — A Fierce Encounter — Killing the Christians, &c. . . . 303 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Colombia — Its Political Divisions — Aspect of the Country — Its Mountain Range 
— Pampas, Llanos, Savannahs — Wealth of the Country — The Pearl Fishery 
—Agriculture — Great Natural Riches — Ecuador — New Granada — Vene- 
zuela .... 318 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Brazil again — Rio de Janeiro — Coffee Grounds — How Coffee is Grown in 
South America — Something about the Silver River — Something about 
Patagonia 331 

CHAPTER XV. 

About California — Its Discovery — How it attained to Notoriety, and won Golden 
Opinions of aU Men— Concerning the Gold Regions— Mr. Butler King's 
Report— How the Gold was Found— How the News Spread— How the 
People Gathered— How Fortunes were Made and Lost — Billionaires and 
Bankrupts— Eraser River— How California got its Name— Gold ! Gold!— 
The Ship Canal— Something About San Francisco . . . .346 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Lisbon 

Salamanca .... 
TeneriSe, tlie Largest of the 

Canary Islands 
The Arms of Spain 
Labourer in the Gold Mines 
An Indian Labourer . 
Indian Sepulchres 
Humility — Washing the Feet of 

the Poor . . . 
Native Indian Children 
Granada .... 
In the Land of Gold . 
A Spanish Settlement in the 

Indies .... 
Gigantic Trees of America . 
Spanish Soldier of the Sixteenth 

Centvu'y .... 
Carthagena .... 
Spanish Ships of the Fifteenth 

Century .... 
South American Indians . 
A Mexican Girl . 
An Indian Yillage 
Near the Island of Pearls . 
Indian Labourer . 
Indian Labourer . 
Ordinary Reed-House in South 

America .... 
Cardiaal Ximenes 
An Indian Settlement . 
On the Rio de la Plata 
Christopher Columbus 
Columbus at the Council of Sala 



manca 
Settlement near Zempoalla 
Hernan Cortes . 
iilontezuma . . . . 



GE. 

4 


Mexican Idols and Altar 


PACK. 

73 


5 


Entrance to an Ancient Mexican 






Temple 


77 


8 


Colossal Head of a Mexican 




9 


Deity 


80 


13 


Plan of the City of Mexico . 


81 


16 


Grand Fountain in the City of 




17 


Mexico 


85 




Grand Sc[uare, Mexico 


89 


20 


The Andes 


93 


21 


Francisco Pizarro 


96 


24 


Cuzco 


101 


25 


House of Pizarro at Cuzco . 


105 




The Escurial, Madrid . 


108 


28 


Heraldic Arms of Peru 


110 


29 


Cadiz 


112 




Native Artisan . 


117 


32 


Charles V. of Germany 


120 


33 


Paraguayans 

A Settlement on the Banks of La 


121 


36 


Plata .... 


125 


37 


Peruvian Gold-Miner's Hut 


133 


40 


Ancient Mexican Architecture 


137 


41 


Mexican Woman of the Labouring 




45 


Class 


145 


48 


Mexican Agricultural Labourer 


149 


49 


Travelling in Mexico . 


153 




Mexican Porter . 


161 


52 


View of Modern Mexico 


165 


53 


Mexican Native Soldiers 


169 


56 


A Brazilian Plantation on the 




57 


Right Bank of the Lowei 




60 


Amazons .... 
View of the River Navay, a tribu- 


173 


Gl 


tary of the Amaxons 


177 


C5 


South American Forest 


184 


68 


A.rrival at a Native Vilkigc on the 


> 


GO 


Ams^zon^ .... 


185 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 







PAGE. 


Monkeys 


188 


Settlement on the Amazons 


189 


A Ship of the Eighteenth Century 


193 


SeviUe 


196 


Antwerp Cathedral 


197 


A Settler's Home 


201 


Heraldic Shield of Brazil . 


208 


Isabella II. . . . . . 


209 


The Flag of Brazil 


213 


Bock Snake, Cobra di CapeUo, 




and Boa Constrictor 


217 


Crocodile, Alb'gator, and Lizards. 


221 


Ant-Eater 


225 


Tortoise 


227 


South American Forest 


229 


The Eoad to Valparaiso 


233 


The Wellingtonia Gigantea 


237 


Negro 


240 


Primitive Bridge . 




241 


Hindoo 




244 


On the Eiver 




245 


A Brazilian BeUe 




249 


Turtle 




252 


Aquatic Birds 




256 


Forest Scene 




257 


Sugar Plantation 




260 



PAGE. 

Cotton Plant . . . .261 
The White Water-Lily . . 263 
Water-Course in the Forest . 265 
A Lake in the Forest . . .269 
A Chilian Miner . . . .272 
A Volcano in the Cordilleras . 273 
Chilian Savages .... 276 
Street Scene in Valparaiso . . 277 
A Fishing ViUage . . .281 

Jaguar 285 

A Chilian Mother 

Ancient Indian Monumental Ee- 



mams 
In the Eegions of Grold 
Horse-Hunting in the Wilderness 
Crocodile and Jag^iar . 
An Indian Farm . 
South American Puma 
South American Belle 
Singular Eock Formation 
Sketch in Eio 
Coffee Plantation 
At the Diggings . 
On the Coast 
In California 
Sketch in the Chinese Quarter 



297 
301 
305 
313 
317 



337 
344 
353 
361 
365 
373 



LIST OF SEPARATE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Punishment of a Man-Eatee . 

No Hope of Eescue .... 

CoRTEz Approaching the City of Mexico 

Port op Santiago .... 

Mexican Dancers .... 

YiRGiN Forest in the Brazils 

A Christmas Ceremony in Brazil . 

Dance of the Bayente by the Yahnas 

A Lay Brother of Peras Transacting Business 

Turtle Inclosure 

Native Boat on the Amazon 

Travelling in the Andes 

Hunting the Guanaco 

A Spanish Settlement on the Amazon 

Native Indians Working a Spell 

Fishing in the Brazils 

A Eaft on the Eiver 



PAOB. 

Frontispiece. 
32 
64 
93 
128 
IGO 
176 
192 
208 
225 
240 
256 
272 
288 
304 
320 
852 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

ASTOEY OF GEE AT DISCOYEEIES AND DAEING DEEDS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Gold— Ophir, Where Is It ?— Feet to Feet— Prince Harry— Map of Africa and 
Else-where, with MiichLeft Oat — The Impassable Cape — Yirtnous Obstinacy 
— Perestrelo's Son-in-Law — The Council of Salamanca— A Yoyage — The 
Penalty of Success — The Triumph of Inferiority— Savage Independence — 
Auriferous Lands— ISTunez-The South Sea. 

TX every age and in every clime gold has been precious. If the 
-^ wandering Israelites demand an idol, it is a golden calf ; if Xebu- 
chadnezzar proclaims a new and material divinity, it takes the form of an 
image of gold ; if a house be bnilt for the Lord, it must be overlaid v/ith 
pure gold ; the altar must be of gold, and the cherubim stretching their 
vrings over it must be covered with gold ; " and the candlesticks of 
pure gold, five on the right side and five on the left, before the oracle, 
vrith the flowers and the lamps and the tongs of gold, and the bowls 
and the snuffers, and the basins and the spoons, and the censers of pure 
gold ; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors and for the inner 
house of the most holy place." Golden Solomon luxuriated in auri- 
ferous treasure, and Hiram's fleet brought gold from Ophir in great 
plenty, and " King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold ; 
six hundred shekels of gold went to one target ; and he made three 
hundred shields of beaten gold ; three pounds of gold went to one 
shield," And his throne was of ivory overlaid with gold; "and all 
Iving Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the 
house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver ; 
it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon ;" for the king 
" made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones." All the dreams of richest 
royalty are outrivalled by this wondrous monarch — great king of splen- 
dour, blest above all men with a golden genius, and wisdom that is 
better than gold— the golden sceptre-bearer of a golden age. 



2 THE GOLDEN" AMERICAS. 

Whence came all this gold to golden Solomon ? Where was this 
golden Ophir which yielded its abundant treasure to the King of Israel ? 
It was somewhere in the golden east, but where ? Three years the 
argosies were on their voyage, and brought back produce, which it is 
said clearly settles that it could not be in Western Asia, or on the 
continent of Europe, and makes it doubtful whether it could be any- 
where on the coast of Africa. There seems more reason to suppose that 
it was in the East Indies, and Ceylon is the site selected by Emerson 
Tennent. But as seven cities contended for the honour of being the 
birthplace of Homer, and seven cities boast of the tomb of the patriarch 
Job, so sixteen different places have been from time to time regarded 
as the land of Ophir, and no man knows its accurate position^ to this 
day. 

Men dreamed of gold, and found it more or less, and valued it 
exceedingly. The splendour of the golden sunshine, the beauty of the 
golden corn, the golden glory of the sunlit sea, all seemed made to render 
homage to the precious metal, as if the Mighty Architect meant to set 
forth gold as the most glorious of all created things, and overlaid the 
things of earth and sea and sky, His universal temple, with symbols of 
gold — images also of that golden city where saints with golden crowns 
shall tread a golden pavement, 

O that long-lost land of gold, the Ophir of King Solomon \ Is it 
lost for ever, like Eden, and do cherubim with flaming swords keep the 
gates that lead to it ? Is it to be found in the lost Atlantis— in the 
mysterious island each night swallowed up in the devil's hand ? Has 
all the world been searched — is every place known — or is there, as some 
visionaries contend, a world yet undiscovered — a world beyond -the 
Pillars of Hercules and the end of the earth ? 

It is a difficult matter for us to conceive of the world with the 
Americas and Australia left out. Four hundred years ago the larger 
portion of the world was entirely unknown. Learned men had satisfac- 
torily to their own minds settled its form and its foundations. It was 
a vast plane of land and water, with the heavens stretched over it 
like a canopy. That instead of this it should be a ball suspended in 
mid-air, whirling on its own axis with tremendous rapidity, and flying 
through space with inconceivable velocity, was foreseen four centuries 
ago by blind guessers at the truth, whom authority would have delighted 
to discredit for their audacity, and to have knocked on the head like 
querulous, carping dogs, and put to eternal silence. 



THE GOLDEN^ AlIERICAS. 8 

But there are some men who will think in spite of authority — who 
will not be silenced, and who escape being knocked on the head. There 
were those who guessed that the Straits of Gibraltar and Hercules' 
Pillars were not the boundary of the habitable world. 

" Know that this theory is false ; his bark 
The daring mariner shall urge far o'er 
The western wave, a smooth and level plane, 
Albeit the earth is fashioned like a wheel. 
Man was in ancient days of grosser mould, 
And Hercules might blush to learn how far 
Beyond the limits he had vainly set 
The dullest sea-boat soon should wing her way ! 
Man shall descry another hemisphere, 
Since to one common centre all things tend ; 
So earth, by curious mystery divine, 
Well balanced hangs amid the starry spheres. 
At our antipodes are cities, states. 
And thronged empires ne'er divined of yore." 

Foremost among those who pushed forward the discovery are the 
Portuguese with Prince Henry at their head ; then there are Ferdinand 
and Isabella, Columbus, and the whole band of brave captains after 
him, who found out and added a new world to the old in the discovery 
of the " Golden Americas." 

Prince Henry of Portugal (born in 1394) was the third son of John 
the First of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, so he had got Planta- 
genet blood in his veins. He was well educated, so far as education was 
then understood, and he had a mighty liking for that learned treatise 
of which so many people have heard and comparatively so few have seen 
— the Imago Mandi of Cardinal Petro de Aliaco. He was very sure that 
the world was not all discovered— that all mundane conquests had not 
been achieved ; and so he sat down to study his maps, and found a very 
infant world indeed. We have heard of a Chinese map of the world 
which represented the Celestial continent only, with'a few islands for the 
barbarians ; we have heard also of a Presbyterian minister in one of the 
Shetlands who used to pray for his own place " and the adjacent islands 
of Great Britain and Ireland !" The maps four hundred years ago were 
of this calmly self-asserting character. 

These maps are most fantastic and miserably incomplete. More 
than half the world is absent. What is represented is misrepresented, 
but what is wanting in accuracy is attempted to be made up in picto- 
rial detail. All the principal cities are denoted by little houses and a 
church or two; Jerusalem occupies the centre of the globe; Paradise 



4 THE GOLDEX AMEEICAS. - - 

is surrounded with foliage, impenetrable brushwood ; the winds arc 
shown by fabulous deities sitting on leather bottles all round the earth. 
Western Africa terminates at Cape Kun, or Not, and there is no hint 
of a world beyond that forbidding negative ; the statue of the Canaries 
flourishes its club ; Prester John, signifying Abyssinia, wears a tower- 
ing mitre of which even Theodore might have been proud ; and all the 
other countries of Africa are represented by their kings in royal costume, 
which is quite unlike the original, and we have over it all — scattered 
here and there according to the artist's humour — Portuguese camps and 




little black men, and giraffes and camels. Long after the issue of the 
map before us, Swift wrote — 

" Geographers in Afric's maps 

With savage picti-ires fill their gaps. 

And o'er uninhabitable do^mis 

Place elephants for want of towns." 
And yet it v/as with a chart such as we have described that Columbus 
set sail. 

Prince Henry of Portugal studied his maps, and thought of Ophir, 
and El Dorado, and the Garden of the Hesperides, where gold inex- 
haustible awaited the happy finder. Where was Prester John, the 
mythical pontifical prince who, it was asserted, governed first beyond 
Armenia, and then in Abyssinia? Would that almost omnipotent 
being ever be found ? Would El Dorado ever be entered ? Well, not 
if we stopped this side Cape Not. So Prince Henry sent out his 
captains to molest the Moors and make discoveries. 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 5 

Q I The Portuguese mariners, we are told, had a proverb, " He who "vvould 
pass Cape Not, either will return or not" (Quem jmssar o Caho de Nam^ 
ou tornara ou navi), intimating that if he did not turn before passing 
the cape he would never turn at all. But it was passed by two of 
Prince Henry's captains, Johann Goncalvez Zara and Tristram Yaz. 
These sea worthies were driven out of their course by storms, and 
accidentally discovered a little island v^^here they took refuge, and from 
that reason called the island of Porto Santo. They found there a race 
of people by no means altogether barbarous, and possessing " a kindly 




SALAMAXCA. 



and fertile soil." The prince was delighted with the news his cajDtains 
brought him, more on account of its promise than its substance ; and 
in the same year he sent them out again together with a third captain, 
Bartolomeo Perestrelo, assigning a separate ship to each, to discover 
more islands, and improve Porto Santo. 

From Porto Santo, Goncalvez Zara and Tristram Yaz saw something 
that seemed like a cloud, made for it in two boats, and found it to be 
an island very abundant in trees, and thence called Madeira (wood). 

- Prince Henry was still further pleased with his captains' successes, and 
made them rulers over the island of Madeira, while the governorshii^ of 

^ Porto Santo was given to Perestrelo. This Perestrelo is interesting to 

- us as being the father-in-law of Columbus, who indeed lived at Porto 
' Santo for some time, meditating new discoveries. 

Other adventurers there were who got as far as Cape Bojador, 
but shrank from going farther, because, they said, "it is clear that 



6 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

beyond this cape there is no people whatever; the land is as bare as 
Lybia ; no water, no trees, no grass ; the sea so shallow that a league; 
from the land it is only a fathom deep ; the currents so fierce that the 
ship which passes that cape will never return." The people at home^ 
of course being farther oif from the strange land, and knowing lessi 
about it, exaggerated these reports, and declared that the men who 
arrived in those foreign parts turned from white to black ; that th€fc 
natives, if any, were cannibals, and that the Portuguese were not 
required to supply those savages with fresh meat ; that it was very 
plain those far-off countries were only meant for wild beasts, and that 
to attempt the civilisation of such lands was to strive to change the 
decrees of Providence. 

But Prince Henry had in him the incitement of what has been 
called " a virtuous obstinacy," He was not to be overawed by vulga 
and ignorant criticism, so he sent out other expeditions that sailed far 
beyond Cape Bojador, and came back with good news. AVho should 
say but that they were straight on the way to the El Dorado ? Then 
Prince Henry applied to Pope Martin the Fifth, praying that his 
holiness would grant to the Portuguese crown all that it should conquer 
from Bojador to the Indies, together with plenary indulgence for those 
who should die in the attempt. The pope granted this. 

"And now," says a Portuguese historian, "with this apostolic 
grace, with the bounty of royal favour, and already with the applause 
of the people, the prince pursued his purpose with more courage and 
with greater outlay." 

Goncalvez obtained some gold-dust — real gold — 

" Gold, gold, gold, gold, 
Hard and yellow, shining and cold" 

— and expectation was on tiptoe. He got some black slaves also, which 
were very much admired for their colour. As to the gold, we are told 
by an historian (Faria y Sousa), "it awakened, as always, covetous^ 
ness." A sad thing, we supjjose, but nothing is more true. Mammon 
was the "least erected spirit that fell from heaven," ever going with; 
downcast eyes — " admiring more the riches of heaven's pavement — 
trodden gold — than aught divine or holy." Perhaps the Portuguese 
had found a richer treasure for the time in seizing slaves than Guinea 
gold, and they worked this mine — man-stealing — with considerable 
success, sustaining themselves for a cruel traffic by reflecting — or per- 
suading themselves — that in thus enslaving the bodies they were freeing 



THE GOLDEN AJMERICAS. 7 

the souls of the poor heathen. So the prince carried on his work of 
discovery and conversion, got what gold he could, and slaves as good 
as gold in the market. He was not particularly successful ; his fleet of 
fourteen vessels came back with neither news nor produce ; and of the 
two gentlemen sent out to the Cape de Verde Islands, instructed to 
introduce the Christian religion, one was killed and the other glad to 
make his escape. 

We must hasten, however, with the narrative of African discovery, 
all of which tended to the discovery of America. We must leave Ca da 
Mosto, who has given the most valuable information with regard to 
Africa in those days; we see the- voyagers touching here and there 
along the coast from Cape Bojador — the once impassable " outstretcher" 
to Sierra Leone ; we see King Alfonso adopting a new system of African 
commerce ; we see Fernando Gomez, by his captains, Juan de Santarem 
and Pedro de Escobar, discovering the Gold Coast, which they call 
Ora de la Mina ; we see Don Juan the Second succeeding his father 
Alfonso on the throne, and his captains taking possession of the Gold 
Coast in his name as Lord of Guinea ; we see the discoverers extending 
still further to the Cape of Good Hope ; and then we turn away to 
Perestrelo's son-in-law — Columbus. 

Columbus was a native of Genoa, and born of humble parents. 
His father was a wool-comber, but he had the boy taught as well as his 
means would allow. He learned to read and write, obtained some 
knowledge of arithmetic, drawing, and painting, little Latin, and no 
Greek. But he loved the sea— the open sea— and as the habits of the 
people among whom he dwelt were nautical, and the age was one of 
adventure and discovery, the boy took very naturally to the ocean 
wave, and at fourteen years old began a seafaring life. Navigation in 
those days was but little understood ; to navigate meant to sail from 
some port of the Mediterranean — " hugging the shore," as the sailors 
say — and exposed all the while to the attacks of those water-rats the 
Barbary pirates, as merciless a set of villains as ever hoisted a black 
flag. So amid these frequent cruisings from port to port, and frequent 
struggles with sea-robbers, Columbus passed the early days of his life. 
He made the best use he could of the scanty education which had been 
afforded him, treasured it up, and added to it every day ; and amid the 
greatest privations, and the uncongenial society of men who had no 
thought above the wants and duties of the hour, kept alive his lofty 
aspirations. 



8 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

People were talking of the admirable doings of Prince Henry of 
Portugal — of strange discoveries which had been made. They talked 
of countries where the rocks were red-hot, and the sea boiled — where 
men walked about with their heads under their arms. They talked of 
lands where the city streets were paved with gold, and jewels as 
common as dewdrops 5 and Columbus listened to it all and wondered. 
He wondered whether there could be any truth in it — whether there 
was land beyond the water, land not yet discovered, whence could 
have drifted the singular canes which he had heard of, and the pieces 




TENEKIFFE, THE LARGEST OE THE CANARY ISLANDS. 

of carved wood that had been cast ashore on the African coast. He 
wondered whether the earth was really a plain level, as was then 
believed ; and he thought of these things through the day, and dreamed 
of them through the night. 

Columbus went to Lisbon to hear more of the discoveries that had 
been made, and day after day you might have seen him, for he was a 
religious man, entering the Church of All Saints at prayer-time. Men 
noticed him ; children looked curiously into his face-; the eyes of a 
noble lady fell upon him; her heart was touched, she sought an inter- 
view, and shortly afterwards they were married. This marriage intro- 
duced Columbus to those who were able to help him forward with his 
project. His father-in-law, Don Bartolomeo Marrio de Perestrelo, had 
been one of Prince Henry's most distinguished officers, and the use of 
his maps, plans, and charts was of great service to Columbus, who now 
began to correspond with the learned men of the day. He felt 
thoroughly convinced that an undiscoveiel region lay beyond the 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 9 

Western Ocean ; he felt a deep impression that it was the will of God 
he should discover it : he determined^to devote the whole of his life to 
that object. 

Trouble came upon him. Sickness and death vrere in his house. 
Trials and afflictions followed fast on one another. The grave closed 
over his wife. He lost his fortune in consequence of the war which 
then devastated the land, and quitted his house in deep poverty, with 
his little son for his only companion. He was so poor that he begged 
a,t a monastic house, not so much for himself as for his boy ; but he 
never lost sight of the object of his life — to find a new world. Columbus 
suggested a plan to the Portuguese court for the fitting out of an 




THE ARMS O? SPAIN. 



expedition to search for the continent which he himsalf felt firmly 
persuaded was to be found. But his proposal was coldly received, and 
ultimately rejected. He next determined to solicit help from the court 
of Spain, and began to beg his way to the capital. It was during 
this journey, that, weary and footsore, his child almost dead with 
fatigue, he craved a little bread and water at a convent door. The 
prior of the convent was interested in the noble-looking stranger, and 
began to talk to him. That conversation convinced the churchman 
that he had to deal with no common man. Columbus revealed his 
project, and the prior introduced him to the Cardinal Mendoza, first 
minister and confidential adviser of the crown. 

Cardinal Mendoza was a man of extensive information and liberal 
mind. He was struck by the good sense of the poor stranger, and 
recommended him to the king. You must know that King Ferdinand 
and Queen Isabella were then reigning in Spain, and that Spain was a 
colossal power, boasting to be the mistress of the sea. The king and 
the cardinal agreed that a council should Ice held for the purpose of 



10 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

taking into consideration the credibility of Columbus's statements. 
This council met at Salamanca. It was entii^ely composed of priors, 
priests, and monks, who monopolised all the learning, both secular and 
religious, of that age. Some v/ere men of large and philosophic minds, 
others narrow bigots, but all were imbued with the notion that geogra- 
phical discovery had reached its limits long previously. Before this 
learned body had Columbus, a simple seaman, strong in nothing save 
the energy of his convictions and the fire of his enthusiasm, to appear, 
and defend a scheme which to them must have appeared little short of 
the dream of a madman. The difficulties of his position may be guessed 
from the nature of some of the objections made to his undertaking*. 
If Columbus supported one of his statements by a mathematical 
demonstration, he was met by quotations from the Book of Genesis, the 
Psalms of David, the Prophets, the Epistles and the Gospels, 
St. Chrysostom and St, Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Basil, 
St. Ambrose, and, last and greatest, Lactantius Firmianus. Columbus 
quoted Pliny to show that many of the wisest of the ancients enter- 
tained a belief in the existence of a southern antipodes. But Pliny 
was ably rebutted by Lactantius, who, renowned doctor and learned 
theologian that he was, thus speaks : — " Is there any one so foolish as to 
believe that there are antipodes with their feet opposite to ours ; people 
who walk with their heels upwards and their heads hanging down ; 
that there is a part of the world in which all things are topsy-turvy, 
where the trees grow with their branches downwards, and where it 
rains, hails, and snows upwards ? The idea of the roundness of the 
earth was the cause of inventing this fable of the antipodes with. their 
heels in the air, for philosophers having once erred go on in their 
absurdities, defending one another." Let clerks, shopmen, golddiggers 
of every class, and adventurous young ladies hearken to this reverend 
father, and beware ! Better bear those evils that you have in Old 
England than fly to a region where you hang with your heels upper- 
most, and where the trees, like cows' tails, grow downwards ! 

St. Augustine was next quoted, but he combats the doctrine of the 
antipodes in a calmer strain, and by arguments which have their weight 
with some persons at the present day.. He declares that to assert that 
there were inhabited lands on the opposite sides of the globe would be 
to maintain that there were nations not descended from Adam, it being 
impossible for them to have crossed the intervening ocean. But this 
would be to disbeheve the Bible, v/hich expressly declares that all men 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 11 

are descended from a common parent ; ergo^ &c. Columbus's simplest 
and fundamental proposition that tlie earth was spherical like a ball way 
met by the passage in Psalm ciy., where the heavens are said to be 
extended like hide (extendens calum sicut pellern) ; and Paul compares- 
them to a tabernacle, all clearly showing that the heavens are flat. 
Others of the council admitted the rotundity of the earth, but denied 
the possibility of circumnavigating it ; firstly, on account of tlie^ 
scorching heat of the torrid zone, and secondly, because at least it would 
take three years to do so, in which time the explorers would perish of 
hunger, it being impossible to carry provisions sufEcient for so long 
a period. Others said that, suppose a ship did reach India, she could 
never get back, for the rotundity of the globe would place a hill ii:^ 
her way, up which the strongest wind could not blow her. 

It would be useless to enumerate the arguments by which Columbus 
refuted all these absurdities; They were those which every schoolboy- 
is acquainted with at the present day ; but our admiration of his talents 
and courage is increased when we remember that so intimately were- 
questions of science connected with religious belief in that day, and 
particularly in Spain, that he ran imminent risk of being charged with 
heresy. 

For five long weary years Columbus continued at intervals to urge 
his project on the attention of the court. At length Queen Isabella 
was moved by his earnest eloquence and untiring patience. Refusing 
longer to listen to cold and timid counsellors, she said — • 

"I will assume the undertaking for my own crown of Castille, and 
am ready to pledge my jewels to defray the expenses." 

So a treaty was signed on the 17th day of April, 1492, by which 
Columbus bound himself to be the faithful vassal of Spain ; and on 
the 3rd of August, in the same year, he and his companions weighed 
anchor from the port of Palos, in Andalusia. The armament consisted 
of three small vessels — the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. On 
board the first, which was the largest, Columbus hoisted his flag. The 
second was commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon; the thu'd by 
Vincente Janez Pinzon. 

A few days brought them to the Canary Islands, the western 
boundary of the known world. Beyond this all was unknown — a sea 
in which no craft had floated since man was for the first time " taught 
by the little nautilus to sail." For days and weeks they sailed 
onward — 



12 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

''' The fair breeze blew, tlie Tvliite foam flew, 
The furrow followed free, 
Tliey were tbe first tbat ever beat 
Over tliat silent sea." 

The men grew terrified — mutinous, and were inclined to tlirow 
Columbus overboard and steer for home ; but thej were kept from any- 
open act of violence, and after sixty days hope began to revive. Here 
and there, tossed and toyed with by the ocean, were pieces of curiously- 
carved wood ; occasionally an abundance of weeds would be seen, 
which had evidently been but recently- torn from the rocks ; strange 
birds were discovered wheeling about in the air, and settling on the 
rigging ; and one day, as a seaman leaned overboard, he observed a 
fresh thorn branch filled with red berries. Columbus addressed his 
people that evening as the sun sank, and besought them to be very 
watchful during the night. Besides the gratuity of thirty crowns for life, 
he engaged to bestov/ upon him who should first discover land a velvet 
doublet. At two in the morning the signal was given by one Roderick 
Triava. 

The land they saw was an island about fifteen leagues in length, 
Avithout any hills, and all covered with trees. Columbus went ashore 
in a boat with a well-armed crew. Groups of simple natives, olive 
colour in complexion, and with black hair, gazed with astonishment at 
the new comers, especially when Columbus, who was clothed in scarlet, 
knelt and kissed the ground, and then planting the standard of Leon 
and Castille, took formal possession in the name of the sovereigns of 
Spain, The island was one of the Bahamas, and Columbus gave it the 
name of St. Salvador. His discoveries were subsequently extended to 
the mainland of the American continent. 

It was a grand holiday when Columbus returned to Spain, and made 
his triumphal entry into Barcelona, Clouds of banners and flags were 
waving, throngs of gaily-dressed people crowded the public ways, the 
prolonged roar of cannon burst from the battlements of the port, and 
the bells rang out from all the churches a mass of merry music, that 
rushed like a whirlwind over the town. And Columbus rode through 
the streets with almost royal pomp — petted and caressed by all, but 
hated by many for his great success. Indians from the New World 
marched in two ranks, with rings of gold on their legs, and crowns of 
feathers on their heads ; then came the crews of the vessels, bearing 
crowns of gold, stone idols, beautiful flamingoes, glittering with brilliant 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 13 

hues, land tortoises, alKgators, brandies of strange trees. Oyer them all 
the admiral's flag, with the inscription — 

" For Castella y por Leon 
Novero Mundo alio Colon,"* 

The history of the further discoveries of Columbus need net be 
traced in detail here. His many successes made him many foes. 
He had found a new continent, which promised to be anlnexhau&tible 
mine of wealth to Spain. Envy, hatred, malice, and their friend and 
partner, uncharitableness, leagued against him. He was popular, and 




LABOXJKER IN THE GOLD MINES. 



must pay the penalty. He was accused of exercising too great an 
authority in the new settlements, of arrogating to himself a princely 
state, rightfully belonging only to the king, of diverting money from 
the royal treasury into liis own pocket. A commissioner was sent out 
to inquire into these charges — a man who hated Columbus, and was 
resolved to ruin him, if it were at all practicable. The admiral resented 
the interference of the commissioner, who took possession of his house, 
and, on the pretence of treasonable conduct, put Columbus in chains, 
and sent the gallant hero back to Spain a prisoner. On arriving at the 
court he was released, and treated with respect ; but his heart was 

* To Castille and Leon Columbus gave a new world. 



14 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

broken, and lie did not long survive the disgrace to which, he had been 
subjected. He died May 29, 1506. He was buried in the Cathedral 
of Seville, the city which he had rendered famous, and his name became 
for ever illustrious in the annals of the great and good. 

There are two facts in connection with the life of Columbus which 
it is important we should observe. First, that the indomitable energy 
of his character led him to remain steadfast to the one purpose of his 
life, through circumstances of the most distressing and adverse nature ; 
he persevered and triumphed ; he discovered the l^Tew World. And 
the second fact is, that great and good men are seldom rewarded as 
they ought to be. The continent which Columbus discovered is called 
"by the name of a man who was but a follower and imitator of the 
famous Genoese. The claims of Americus Vespucius are not to be 
compared with those of Columbus; but the New World has been 
christened by his name. The value of the discovery which Columbus 
made was underrated. " If Columbus had not crossed the Western 
main and found the New World, somebody else v/ould," So said 
detractors. "After all, it was an easy matter." It was then that 
Columbus asked his critics to stand an egg on its apex ; and they tried, 
and tried, and failed, and said it was impossible, until, with a smile, 
the old sailor slightly broke and compressed the shell at the apex, 
and lo ! the egg stood erect before their astounded gaze. It was 
Tery simple, very easy ; but not one of their wise heads had hit upon 
it till they saw it was done. And thus, when America was found, it 
was easy to find America. 

The enemy who had supplanted Columbus was Francis de 
Bobadilla, and after sending off the admiral in chains, he is accused 
of indulging in a course of "favouritism, covetousness, injustice; and 
mob service." He appears to have allowed the Spaniards to treat 
their Indians as a labour gang, to be set to work anywhere without 
any restriction. His government did not last more than a year and 
a-half . He was succeeded by one Nicholas de Ovando, a Knight of the 
Order of Alcantara. In choosing Ovando, Los Reyes, as the King and 
Queen of Spain called themselves, seem to have taken pains, so far as 
they could, to secure a worthy governor of the Indies. Previous to his 
departure from court they were particular in giving him instruc- 
tions both verbal and written. Amongst these instructions was one 
which Isabella particularly insisted upon — ^namely, that all the Indians 
in Hispaniola should be free from servitude and be unmolested by any 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 15 

one, and that they should live as free vassals, governed and protected 
hj justice, as were the vassals of Castillo. He arrived at St. Domingo 
on the 16th of April, 1502. 

Las Casas, now in his 28th year, came out in the same fleet ; and 
he tells us that as the vessels neared the shore, the Spanish colonists 
ran down to hear the news from home, and to tell their good news 
exultingly in return, which was, that an extraordinary lump of gold 
had been found, and that certain Indians were in revolt. "I heard it 
myself," the historian says ; and he is right to chronicle the fact, 
showing as it does the views which prevailed among the settlers of the 
advantage of an Indian revolt in furnishing slaves. This great piece 
of gold which they talked about had been found accidentally by an 
Indian woman at the mines, while listlessly moving her rake to and fro 
in the water one day during dinner time. It contained 3,000 pesos 
worth, equal to 1,350,000 maravedis, and in the festivities that took 
place on the occasion was used as a dish for roast pig, the miners 
saying that no King of Castille had ever feasted from a dish of such 
value. We do not find that the poor Indian woman had any part in 
the good fortune. Indeed, as Las Casas says, she was fortunate if she 
had any portion of the meat, not to speak of the dish. 

Amidst various kinds of trouble Ovando began his rule, and the 
people he had with him — all sorts of people, who knew nothing what- 
ever of mining operations — rushed off to the mines, as people always 
do in a gold fever, and were vastly disappointed because they discovered 
mining to be excessively hard work, with no commensurate reward. 
This was the case in modern times, when the Ballarat diggings in 
Australia were attracting shoals of emigrants. It was true that the 
gold was plentiful, but the labourers were more than equal to the 
golden harvest. The average returns gave about three pounds a week 
to the diggers, and when we consider that provisions were very expen- 
sive, the three pounds dug out of the earth or washed out of the mud 
was not of more worth than five-and-twenty or thirty shillings at 
home. It is true there were great prizes, which is also true of every 
kind of occupation, but these were few and far between. As the 
prudent emigrants to Australia soon left the diggings and grew rich 
in trading and farming, so with these Spanish settlers — a few were 
wise enough to buy land, cultivate it, and grow wealthy, but the 
majority rushed to the mines and starved. 

To the Indians the conduct of the Spaniards was cruel and 



16 . THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

treaciierous. Entlinsiastic Isabella, wlio doubtless imagined that her 
new subjects were very well cared for, would have been thoroughly 
shocked could she have beheld them working in the mines and on the 
roads like so many convicts, enslaved, starved, whipped, as a prepara- 
tory process for teaching them Chris cianity. Before the Spaniards 
arrived, these Indians smoked their pipes in peace and were happy, 
knowing nothing of a civilisation for which they had no relish. There 
was nothing in what the Spaniards did to commend their faith or 




AN INDIAH lABOTJREE. 

practice to the Indians, who kept out of their way, or escaped from 
them as often as they could. 

As for any inducements which the Spanish religion held out to the 
Indians, we may judge how far they were understood or estimated by 
the story of Hatney, cacique of a part of Cuba, who kept spies at 
Hispaniola to tell him of the goings on there of the Spaniards. This 
man was not unacquainted with their forms of worship, and it is 
probable that he may have seen, or at least have heard of, the act cf 
humiliation which priests and devotees would sometimes perform in 
washing the feet of the poor ; but he was wise enough to know that 
it was a form, and that humility was strange to the Spaniards. He 
feared that they would come, as they aftetwards did, to his territory ; 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



17 




18 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

so, calling his people together, and recounting the cruelties of the 
Spaniards, he said that they did all these things for a great lord whom 
they loved much, which lord he would now show to them. Forthwith 
he produced a small basket filled with gold. " Here is the lord whom 
they serve, and after whom they go, and, as you have heard, already 
they are longing to pass over to this place, not pretending more than 
to seek this lord; wherefore let us make to him here a festival and 
dances, so that when they come he may tell them to do us no h^rm."" 
The Indians approved this counsel, and danced round tlie gold till they 
were exhausted, when the cacique turned to them and said that they 
should not keep the god of the Christian anywhere, for were it even in 
their entrails it would be torn out, but that: they should throw it in 
the river, that the Christians might not know where it- was. "And 
so," says the account, " they threw it." 

Our opinion of the Indians would be lowered if we founds that they 
were attracted by the whiteSj and willingly adopted their made of life. 
The Spaniards were indeed forbidden to enslave peaceful Indians, but 
they did it; they were allowed liberty to capture or kill cannibal 
Indians, and the permission naturally led to the grossest abuse. Any 
Indian who dared to resist a Spaniard was denounced as a man-eatiar, 
and was either immediately enslaved or put to a cruel death. For a 
long time it was the practice to suspend so-called man-eaters on 
a cross, and leave them to be pecked to death by the: vultures, 
to Ovando, his conduct to the Indians was swift and severe in 
all cases where he suspected resistance ; for example, there wa» 
an Indian queen, Anacona, of Xaraquay, and her people, with 
whom he had been on friendly terms. But a quarrel arose between 
her people and the Spanish settlers in her neighbourhiood. A report 
was spread that the Indians of Xaraquay were meditating a revolt^ 
and Ovando resolved on making a terrible example. He would go 
himself to Xaraquay, a distance of seventy leagues from St. Domingo, 
and take vengeance on the plotting rebels. Anaconacame out to meet 
him with numbers of her people, singing and dancing as in former 
times. All sorts of hospitality were offered and accepted, and if the 
poor queen had suspicion of evil, she now fondly imagined that the 
" severe-looking governor" was appeased. Ovando, however, was bent 
on her destruction ;. on the principle that prevention is better than 
cure, he argued it would be better to crush an insurrection before it 
broke out than to suppress it afterwards. 



I 



II 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 19 

"With these thoughts in his mind, he ordered that, on a certain 
Sunday after dinner, all the cavalry should get to horse on the pretext 
of a tournament. The infantry, too, he caused to be ready for action. 
He himself, a Tiberius in dissembling, goes to play at quoits, and is 
disturbed by his men coming to him and begging him to look on at 
their sports; Poor Anacona absolutely jumps into the trap prepared 
for her. She tells the. governor that her caciques, too, would like to 
see this tournament, upon which, with demonstrations of pleasure, he 
bade her come with all her caciques to his lodgings, for he wanted to 
talk to them, intimating, as I conjecture, that he would explain the 
game to them. Meanwhile, he gave his cavalry orders to surround his 
lodgings ; he placed the infantry at certain points, and told his men 
that when, in talking with the caciques, he should put his hand in his 
scarf (the thing from which probably hung his Alcantara order of 
knighthood), they should rush. in. and bind the caciques and Anacona, 
It fell out as- he had? planned: All these deluded Indian chiefs and 
their queen were secured ; she alone was led out of the lodgings, which 
were then set fire to, and> all the chiefs burnt alive. Anacona was 
afterwards hangedi audi the province was desolated," 

The next occasion Ovando had to chastise the Indians was upon 
another outbreak in the province of Higuey. that province which we 
have seen reduced to obedience by Juan de Esquibel, The Indians of 
this district had agreed to make bread for the Spaniards, but not to 
carry it to St. Domingo. This^ was; now endeavoured to be imposed 
upon them. Las Gasas is: convinced from Ms experience that the 
conduct of the little garrison which had been left in Higuey was 
disorderly and licentious, according to the usual fashion of the invaders. 
The result was, that the Indians rose and attacked the fort, burnt it, 
and put to death the garrison, with the exception of one who escaped 
to tell the news. The governor instantly proclaimed war, and gave 
Juan de Esquibel the command. The war was carried on in the 
accustomed way as regards the unavailing efforts of the Indians, and 
with more than the accustomed ferocity on the part of the conquering 
Spaniards. There were some signal instances of valour shown by the 
Indians, On one occasion, where Las Casas was an eye-witness, a 
naked Indian, with only his bow and arroAvc, maintained, unhurt, a 
close contest with a well-armed Spaniard, to the admiration of both 
armies, standing aloof to behold the engagement. The Indians, 
however, found their chief safety in flight ; and it is recorded that 



20 



THE G0LDE:N^ AMERICAS. 




I 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



21 



tliose whom the Spaniards compelled to act as guides, and whom they 
kept attached to them by ropes, often threw themselves off the 
precipices, and thus balked their masters. Unfortunately, amongst the 
Spaniards themselves were men who had become quite skilful in 
tracking Indians, so much so, that from the turn of a withered leaf 
they could detect which way a party had gone of those they hunted 




KATIVE INDIAN CHILDREN. 



after. The cruelty wreaked by the Spaniards upon their captives was 
excessive. They used the same mode of sending terror amongst the 
Indians which had been adopted in the former war — namely, cutting 
off the heads of their captives. Las Casas mentions that on one 
occasion they hanged up thirteen Indians, " in honour and reverence of 
Christ our Lord and His twelve apostles." These men, hanging at 
such a height that their feet could just touch the ground, were used rs 



22 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

damb figures for the Spaniards to try their swords upon. This hideous 
cruelty Las Casas says he saw, but at the same time he adds, with a 
rshrinking which all will feel to be natural, that he fears to relate these 
things now, hardly being able to persuade himself but that he must 
have dreamt them. On another occasion he saw some Indians being 
burnt alive in a sort of wooden cradle. Their cries disturbed the 
Spanish captain taking his siesta in his tent, and he bade the alguazil 
.who had the charge of the execution to despatch the captives. This 
officer, however, only gagged the poor wretches, vflao thus fulfilled 
:their martyrdom in the way he originally intended *them. " All this I 
^saw with my bodily mortal eyes," emphatically exclaims our witness for 
Ithe fact. 

lit is painful to pursue iihe story of the gold-seekers, and the craft 
^nd cruelty practised on the inoffensive Indians. It is painful to know 
?that while all this was going on Columbus still lived, and, although 
jpermitted to continue his voyages of discovery, was denied his old 
command, and, ;amid enemies and spies, could find no rest tiU he found 
■it ia the grave. He had opened the way for thieves and murderers to 
;slay and steal, he had shown the direction in which gold was to be had 
?and fair lands unfairly won, and others were now rapidly following 
(their persecuted, joutraged pioneer. 

The passion which Columbus 'had excited, the land to be won, (the 
fgold to be claimed, did not die with him. A new impulse had been 
^given to the people of Europe, a new world was before "them. The 
teagern^s Jto icxplore the wondefful secrets of the new hemis|Jhere 
Ibeeame'so adtive that the principal cities of Spain were in a manner ^ 
fdepopulated. There was a furore for America ; emigrants thronged 
the quays and wharfs, new vessels were chartered, an impetus was 
given to maritime pursuits ; busy people grew weary of their common 
business, and longed to be busy in a new clime; they fled away like 
birds of passage, knew no fear, admitted no doubt, were full of hope 
and confidence, only crying out for sea-room and a fair start. 

The New World was a world of romance. Travellers, who are 
always said to teU strange stories, told the strangest things that ever 
had been heard. They told of nations where ladies formed the army, 
manned the navy, sat in solemn judgment on offenders, who had estab- 
lished themselves in full authority, not to be put down by anything 
that called itself man. They told of wondrous giants, before whichj 
Golaath sinks into miserable insignificance, and pictured a land so rich- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS, 23 

that the sands sparkled with gems, and golden pebbles, as large as 
birds' eggs, were dragged out of the river in nets. 

And though there was a good deal of dupery in all this, the dupers 
duped themselves as well as others. This is seen bj the extravagant 
nature of many of their enterprises. 

Some of them went in search of the golden fountain of wealth, 
more sure to cure diseases, so they said, than the Pool of Bethesda in 
the old time ; that needed an angel to trouble it ere it had curative 
efficacy, this was ever the same ! 

Others, dreaming of gold — yellow gold — hard gold — looked out for 
the imaginary tomb of Yenu, built of the precious metal, and the 
Temple of Doboy, likewise of the same sort of stuff. The name of 
Castilla del Oro (Golden Castille) held out a bright promise to the 
fortunate settler, but it too frequently happened that instead of gold 
the settler found a grave, America was a realm of enchantment. The 
simple natives, with their defenceless bodies and rough weapons, were 
no match for the well-trained, well-armed Europeans ; they fled before 
them by hundreds, and the stories of those days are as wonderful 
as any legend of chivalry. 

Among those who were called forth by the Spanish voyages of 
discovery we must not omit to notice Vaseo Nunez de Balboa. He was 
a, man of high birth, hardy, bold, and adventuTOus,; and has gained for 
himself a lofty position, not only in 'the history of his own land, but in 
the history of the world. 

He held office under Ferdinand, and had long sought to find out a 
way to his favour. Gold-finding was that way; Balboa learned the 
secret, and turned his attention in that direction. 

This Vasco Nunez Balboa was a daring man who must have his 
pleasures, perhajDS even when he could not pay for them. Hence we 
find him escaping from his creditors in a big cask on board ship, 
and labelled victuals for the voyage. There was a great outcry 
when he was discovered, and all sorts of vengeful punishments 
for his unwarrantable intrusion freely canvassed, such as starving, 
flogging, or setting adrift on a desert island. But Nunez was 
not easily daunted ; he was clever, craf by, courageous, forward in 
enterprise, good-humoured, and handsome. He rose to be a man 
of considerable consequence, and became Governor of Darien. The 
following account of what happened is taken from a very interesting 
work, entitled The Conquerors of the Neio World and their Bondsmen : — 



24 THE GOLDEIT AMERICAS. 

" Thirty leagues from Darien, and adjoining to Careta's territoiy, 
was a country called Comogra, situated on the sea coast, the cacique of 
which country was named Comogre. This chief being brought into 
friendship with the Spaniards by one of Careta's relations, who had 
taken refuge from his own lord at Comogre's court, Yasco Nunez went 
with his men to visit Comogre. The Spaniards were much surprised 
by the signs of comfort and civilisation which they found in this 
Indian chief's dwelling. Indeed, it was the most like a palace of any- 
thing that had been seen since the discovery of the Indies. Its 
dimensions were a hundred and fifty feet in length, eighty in breadth, 
and eighty in height ; the floors and ceiling were exquisitely wrought, 




and it contained many apartments, a granary, cellars, and, ,what 
perhaps was most curious, a room where the bodies of the king's 
ancestors were preserved as mummies. Comogre gave his Spanish 
visitors a splendid welcome, and presented them with four thousand 
pesos of gold and seventy slaves. A fifth part of whatever gold was 
discovered belonged by right to the King of Spain, and it was to 
watch over his rights that a veedor on the part of the king was 
appointed. While the Spaniards were weighing out this fifth part of 
the gold which Comogre had given them, or dividing the residue 
amongst themselves, there arose, to use the expressive words of an old 
translation of Peter Martyr, a ' brabbling among the Spaniards about 
the dividing of the gold.' " 

Now Comogre had seven sons, of noble appearance and large 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



25 



stature, and the eldest was a young man of great spirit and ability. 
It would have been weU, perhaps, for the whole of South America if 
he had not been a man of this kind. 




IN THE LAND OF GOLD. 



"The youth, seeing this miserable contention amongst the 
Spaniards, which must have appeared singularly contemptible in the 
eyes of an Indian who would value little the substance these Spaniards 
were quarrelling about, and who, even for a great thing, would have 



26 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

thought such contention unseemly and ungentlemanlike— for a noble 
indifference about most earthly things is to be seen at the bottom 
of the Indian character throughout both continents — was disgusted at 
this clamour ; and, after the fashion of Brennus, dashing with his hand 
the scales in which the gold was, and scattering it about, he made the 
following speech : — ' What is "this, Christians V is it for such a little 
thing that you quarrel? If you have such a love of gold that to get 
it you disquiet and harass the peaceful nations of these lands, and, 
suffering such labours, banish yourselves from your own lands, I will 
show you a country where you may fulfil your desires. But it is 
necescary for this that you should be more in number than you are 
now, for you would have to fight your way with great kings, and 
amongst them, in the first place, with King Tubanama, who abounds 
with this gold, and whose country is distant from ours six suns.' 

" Then he -signified to them, by pointing with his finger, that this 
rich territory lay towards a sea, and southwards ; which sea, he said, 
they would come to, passing over certain sierras, and where other 
nations had ships a little less in size than those of the Spaniards, navi- 
gating with sails and oars ; and that, traversing that sea, they would 
find a land of great riches, where the people had large vessels of gold 
out of which they ate and drank — where, indeed, there was more gold 
than there was iron in Biscay. It appears that the shrewd Indian had 
been making inquiry with respect to the manufacture of the Spanish 
swords. The above is not to be taken as a speech set down in a classi- 
cal history, but the substance of it really appears to have been uttered 
by the young Indian prince. Juan Alonzo and the other Spaniard, who 
had lived with King Careta, served as inteipreters ; and these men seem 
to have been fated to be the conduits, as it were, of great deeds and 
^reat evil. 

" It appears, however, that the young prince said that a thousand 
men would be requisite for this undertaking, and that, when asked for 
the grounds of his intelligence and for his advice, he made another 
speech, in which he told the Spaniards that his countrymen, too, had 
wars, and that he had learned these facts from one of their own men 
(' Behold him,' he exclaimed) who had been a captive in those countries 
he spoke of. lie also offered to accompany the Spaniards, being bound 
himself ; and he said that they might hang him on the next tree if his 
words should not prove true. The substance of his speeches, and, pro- 
bably, a good part of the very words, were conveyed to the Spanish 



THE GOLDEN AMElilCAS. 27 

court. This was the first notice of the Pacific and also of Peru ; it is 
likely that Pizarro was a bystander. ' Our captains,' says Peter Martyr, 
' marvelling at the oration of the naked young man, pondered in their 
minds and earnestly considered his sayings.' It seems that, for injuries 
done in former times to his nation, this youth wished to stir up the 
Spaniards against his neighbours, and that he suggested a joint inva- 
sion whenever the Christians should be reinforced, oifering to join to 
them his father's forces. ' A prudent youth,' this prince is called by 
both historians, Peter Martyr and Las Casas ; but it is not the descrip- 
tion, I think, that would now be given of him ; and one would say 
that it needed not the lights of history or the thoughtfulness of refined 
civilisation to make all prudent people well aware of the latent danger 
of an over-powerful ally. 

" The Spaniards having baptised Comogre and his family, giving to 
him the name of Don Carlos, took their leave and returned to Darien 
joyful and thoughtful, in the feverish state of mind of persons seeing 
before them jgreat enterprises for which they are not quite prepared. 
When they arrived they found that Valdivia had come with a ship and 
some provisions, also with a gracious message from the authorities of 
Hispaniola ; but;asOLias(Gasas well sa-ys, 'In the house of a gambler joy 
remains but Sishoit'iime' (En casa del tahur poco dura la alegria) ; their 
provisions lasted but a few days, and famine, always on their track, 
soon began to attack them again. It was not altogether their own 
fault on this occasion, for a great storm had destroyed what they had 
sown. They lived now as we suppose therfeudal barons to have dived 
in the middle ages — by predatory forage, robbing and deva^tstting 
wherever they could. 

" It was about this time that Yasco Nunez sent Valdivia to Hispa- 
niola with the king's fifth of the gold. It amounted to fifteen thousand 
pesos ; but neither he nor his gold ever reached their destination, for 
his vessel was wrecked in a perilous part of the sea near Jamaica, called 
the Vivoras, or Pedro shoals, and he himself perished by the hands of 
the Indians. 

" Vasco Nunez has been held to be a man who dealt very wisely, and, 
upon the whole, very mercifully, with the Indians ; but we are told that 
be was accustomed to put them to the torture in order to make them 
discover those towns which had most gold and provisions, and then to 
attack these towns by night. He wrote to the admiral saying that he 
had hanged thirty caciques, and must hang as many as he should take, 



28 



THE GOLDEN ALIEEICAS. 



for the Spaniards, being few, had no other way until he should be 
supplied with more men. He meant that terror was his only means of 
supplying the defect of force. 

"Hearing of a temple full of gold in the country of a cacique called 
Dabaybe, towards the south of the Gulf of Urata, tl-e Spaniards made 
an incursion into his caciquedom, and, the Indians offering little or no 
resistance, Yasco Xunez's men devastated the country. Meanwhile 




A SPANISH SETTLEilENT IN THE INDIES. 



Colmenares had been sent to the east of the gulf, whither Yasco Xunez, 
after his return from Dabaybe, went to join him, and, uniting their 
companies, they entered the territory of a cacique called Abenamache. 
This chief and his men made as stout resistance as they could with 
their two-handed wooden swords called macanas, rushing fiercely on the 
Spaniards, but to little purpose. After the battle, a common soldier 
whom the cacique had wounded came up to him, and, with one blow of 
his sword, struck the cacique's arm off. From thence Yasco Nunez, 
leaving Colmenares behind him, went up a river and entered the 



THE GOLDEN AMEHICAS. 



29 



territory of a cacique named Abibeyba, where the houses were in trees 
(as the ground was marshy) of such bigness that seven or eight mea 
hand in hand were scarcely able to surround one of them ; but these 
Indians, though living in this strange manner, do not seem to have 







GIGANTIC TREES OF AMERICA. 



been particularly barbarous or ne^ectful of the comforts of life, for it is 
mentioned that they had their cellars underground for fear of the wine 
being spoiled by the motion of the trees when shaken by the wind. 
Abibeyba was summoned to descend from his tree-fortress, and when 



30 THE GOLDEX AMERICAS. 

lie refused, the Spaniards began to cut down the tree, upon which he 
was obliged to come down. They asked him for gold, in reply to which 
he said he had none himself, and did not care for it any more than for 
stones, but he promised to endeavour to get some, and was allowed to 
depart for that purpose. As he did not return, however, at the 
stated time, the Spaniards destroyed liis settlement. This Abibeyba, 
in his wanderings among the mountains, came upon Abenamache, the 
cacique who had lost his arm ; bewailing their hard fate, they betook 
themselves to Abraibe, a neighbouring chief into whose country a 
foraging expedition headed by a Spaniard named Raya, of the force left 
with Colmenares, had lately penetrated, and had retired, losing three 
men." 

The caciques, finding, that the Spaniards were bent on seizmg 
everything, conspired, attacked Colmenares^ a Spanish settlement, and 
were entirely defeated, many slaughtered, many more carried into 
slavery^ Another conspiracy ended in the same way,, and the poor 
Indians seem to have been thoroughlyy disheartened. Yasco Nunez 
sent messages to the King of Spain,, informing hiin of the promised 
gold region, and he was appointed captain-general. But enemies were 
watching him. An old foe, Bachiller Enciso, into whose vessel I^iinez 
had been smuggled in a cask, was undermining the good opinion in 
which he was held by his sovereign, and so the heart of Nunez was 
filled with apprehension. Still he assumed great confidence, and 
resolved to be the discoverer of, that sea and of those rich lands to 
which Comogre's son had pointed: It was no use waiting for reinforce- 
ments from Spain, when probably along with those reinforcements 
v.'ould come his own dismissal. So early in September, 1513, he set out 
on his renewed expedition for finding the. other sea, accompanied by a 
hundred and ninety men well armed, and by dogs which were of more 
avail than men, and by Indian slaves to carry the burdens.- Coming 
into the territories of the cacique Foncha, he contrived to assure that 
chief that his object was discovery, and not conquest, and it was his 
policy at that time to keep his word. He secured the chief's friendship 
by the present of some looking-glasses, hatchets, and hawk-bells, in 
return for which he obtained guides and porters. With these Nunez 
pursued his journey, and ascending the mountains entered the country 
of an Indian chief named Quarequa, who, at the head of his people, 
offered some formidable resistance, but was entirely defeated, and Peter 
Martyr tells us " it was a scene to remind one of the shambles." Taking 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 31 

with him fresh guides, the Spanish commander pursued his waj to the- 
most lofty sierras, and on the 25th of September came near to the top 
of a mountain whence the South Sea was visible. A little before he 
reached the height he was informed of his near approach to it, and 
ascended alone. Then as he gazed uj)on the vast Pacific — ^the first -man 
of the Old World, so far as he knew, to behold this sea — he knelt 
down and gave thanks to God. Then he beckoned to his men to come 
up, and after united thanksgiving addressed them thus : — 

" You see here, gentlemen and children mine, how our desires are 
being accomplished, and the end of our labours. Of that we ought to 
be certain, for as it has turned out true what King Comogre's son told 
of this sea to us who never thought to see it, so I hold for certain that 
what he told us of there being incomparable treasures in it will be 
fulfilled. God and His Blessed Mother, who have assisted us so that 
we should arrive here and behold this sea, will favour us that we may 
enjoy all that there is in it." 

At the conclusion of this address, Vasco Nunez caused certain 
memorials to be made by the cutting down of trees, the rearing of 
crosses, and the heaping together of stone, and he then formally took 
possession of the sea in the names of the Kings of Castille. 

Continuing his journey, Nunez, after an engagement with the people 
of the cacique Chiapes, made peace, and obtained a good supply of 
gold in return for some showy trifles. While with these people he sent 
on two of his principal officers — Francisco Pizarro and Alonzo Martin — 
to find the nearest way to the seashore. Alonzo Martin was the first 
to discover it, and returning with the intelligence, Vasco Nunez himself 
went down to the shore, accompanied by about eighty of his men. 
The tide had ebbed, and the water was nearly two miles distant, but it 
soon returned, and Nunez, with a sword in one hand and a banner 
representing the Virgin and Child and the arms of Spain in the other, 
stood knee-deep in the water, and took formal possession in very 
precise and somewhat bombastic language : — 

"Long live the high and mighty monarchs Don Ferdinand and 
Donna Juana, sovereigns of Castille, Leon, and Aragon, in whose names 
I take real, and actual, and corporeal possession of these seas, and 
lands, and coasts, and ports, and islands of the South, and all there- 
unto annexed ; and of the kingdoms and provinces which do or may 
appertain to them in whatever manner, or by whatever right or title, 
ancient or modern, in times past, present, or to come, without any con - 



82 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



tradiction ; and if other prince or captain, Christian or infidel, or if 
any law, condition, or sect whatsoever shall pretend any right to 
these lands and seas, I am ready to maintain and defend them in the 
name of the CastiUian sovereigns, whose is the empire and dominion 
over these Indies, islands and terra Jirma, Northern and Southern, with 
all their seas, both at the Arctic and Antarctic Poles, on either side of 
the equinoctial line, whether within or without the tropics of Cancer 
and Capricorn, both now and in all time, as long as the world endure, 
and until the final day of judgment of all mankind." 




SPANISH SOLDIEK Or THE SIXTEENTH CEKTtJRY. 



|i| III iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii III Hill iiiiiiii mil nil inn ii ii iiillli %0lijif IU'/fl(|Wf?W(l?|( 




tlillll;;!:ii;i^iiiiiiyiiiiii,,i,ii,i,,W^| 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



33 




CAKTHAGENA. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Messengers of Nunez arrive too late — The New Governor, Pedrarias de Avila 
— Fifteen Hundred Gentlemen on the Look-out for Gold — Famine — The 
Eequisition — Caribs — A Little Affair at Santa Martha — Nunez Summoned to 
the Presence of the Governor — Juan de Ayora — Burning a Cacique— Bachiller 
Enciso — A Native Eesponse — Gaspar de Morales looking out for Pearls — A 
Defeat— Captain Becerra — Badajoz — The Promotion of Nunez — Marriage — 
The Port of Ada — The Station — Talk of a New Governor — Su.spicion — 
Nunez Loses his Head — Spanish Cruelty — Las Casas— Cardinal Ximenes — 
His Benevolent Intentions towards the Indians — A Council of Discovery — 
Juan Diaz de Solis and Others— Paraguaza— The Pope's BuU— Magellan. 

"VrUNEZ had sent his messenger to Spain to tell of the wonderful 
-^^ things he had done, and how gold was to be had galore. But, 
unfortunately for him, another governor had been appointed before his 
messenger arrived, hence it came to pass that all his messenger had to 
communicate exalted the position of his successor, but added nothing 
to him. Spain, of course, was in a state of excitement at the idea of 
fishing up gold with nets, but the people cared nothing for the dis- 
coverer. His mightiness of Spain had already appointed an elderly 
gentleman of high connections, one Pedrarias de Avila. He . had 
unhorsed a good many knights in the tilt-yard, and had won for himself 
the name of Jouster. Why a man who could govern his horse and 

D 



84 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

carry his lance straight should be the best governor for a new settle- 
ment it required the penetration of a Spanish king to see, but there is 
this to be said for King Ferdinand, the man was old, and, as a rule, 
old men have no grand ambitious projects, and are therefore most 
excellently loyal to their sovereigns. What are the uses of independent 
schemers when the mind lacks its lissomness and the body is weak ? 
There is nothing left but submission, shelter, and shadow, and the 
avenging, if you be in the humour, of small spites. Not that Pedrarias 
was a man to yield vfillingiy, to consent to be nothing ; he had in 
earlier days been called " Furor Domini," and in later days had best 
have been called Furor Diaboli, for he was sulphur, ultra sulphur — a 
devil. 

Had not Comogre's son, with whom gold was of no account, stated 
that a thousand men would be necessary to make their way to the sea, 
and obtain the riches which were there to be obtained? Pedrarias, 
to be on the safe side, enlisted twelve hundred, and the armament was 
speedily augmented by three hundred more volunteers. When he 
arrived at Seville he found no fewer than two thousand young men 
eager to be enrolled in his forces, and " not a small number of avaricious 
old me33," many of whom offered to go at their own expense. 

A good many of the volunteers were rejected, as a specified number 
of ships had been drafted on the expedition, and room there was none 
for all v/ho wanted to go. Four principal officers and a bishop were 
esteemed essential, and the retinues of these gentlemen occupied some 
space. 

Pedrarias had his instructions, foremost of which was the duty of 
inculcating Christianity, of making these Indians know " Our Lord," 
and to reverence "His Holy ISTame," to receive "Our Sacred Faith," 
and much more to the same effect. Then, as to the apportionment of 
Indians, they might be dealt vath in three ways. First, they might 
employ the Indians as personal servants— that is, to take bodily 
possession of them, and compel them to work ; secondly, arrange- 
ments might be made with the caciques, or rulers, in which case 
slaves would be supplied as per contract ; thirdly, war might be made 
upon them, and well-armed soldiers were most likely to make easy 
victory over naked and almost unarmed savages. In case of war, all 
the Indians taken alive were to be made slaves of immediately for life, 
and any resistance on the part of the Indians was to be construed into 
a casns helJi. A certain requisition (El Requerimiento) was made out, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 35 

and the Indians were expected to acquiesce. The requisition was to 
the following effect : — 

" On the part of the king, Don Fernando, and of Dona Juana, his 
daughter, Queen of Castile and Leon, subduers of the barbarous 
nations, we, their servants, notify and make known to you, as best we 
can, that the Lord our God, living and eternal, created the heaven and 
the earth, and one man and one woman, of whom you, and we, and all 
the men of the world, were and are descendants, and all those who 
come after us. But on account of the multitude which has sprung 
from this man and woman in the five thousand years since the world 
was created, it was necessary that some men should go one way and 
some another, and that they should be divided into many kingdoms 
and provinces, for in one alone they could not be sustained. 

" Of all these nations God our Lord gave charge to one man, called 
St. Peter, that he should be lord and superior of all the men in the 
world, that all should obey him, and that he should be the head of the 
whole human race, wherever men should live, and imder whatever law, 
sect, or belief they should be ; and He gave him the world for his 
kingdom and jurisdiction. 

" And He commanded him to place his seat in Rome, as the spot 
most fitting to riile the world from, but also He permitted him to have 
his seat in any other part of the world, and to judge and govern all 
Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, and all other sects. This man was 
called Pope, as if to say, admirable great father and governor of men. 
The men who lived in that time obeyed that St. Peter, and took him 
for lord, king, and superior of the universe ;" (imagine what Tiberius 
or ISTero would have said to this!) "so also have they regarded 
the others who, after him, have been elected to the pontificate, and 
so has it continued even till now, and will continue till the end of 
the world. 

" One of these pontiffs, who succeeded in the room of that St. Peter 
in that dignity and seat which I have mentioned as lord of the world, 
made donation of these isles and terra jirma to the aforesaid king and 
queen, and to their successors, our lords, v/ith all that there are in 
these territories, as is contained in certain writings which passed upon 
the subject, as aforesaid, which you can see if you wish. 

" So their highnesses are kings and lords of these islands and land 
of terra frma by virtue of this donation; and some islands, and, 
indeed, almost all those to whom this has been notified, have received 



36 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



and served their highnesses, as lords and kings, in the way that 
subjects ought to do, with good will, without any resistance, imme- 
diately, without any delay, when they were informed of the aforesaid 
facts. And also they received and obeyed the priests whom their 
highnesses sent to preach to them and to teach them our sacred faith - 
and all these, of their own free will, without any reward or condition, 
have become Christians, and are so, and their highnesses have joyfully 
and benignantly received them, and also have commanded them to be 
treated as their subjects and vassals ; and you, too, are held and obliged 




SPANISH SHIPS OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 

to do the same. Wherefore, as best we can, we ask and require yon 
that you consider what we have said to you, and that you take the 
time that shall be necessary to understand and deliberate upon it, and 
that you acknowledge the Church for lady and superior of the whole 
world (^por senora y superiora del universo mundo'), and the high priest 
called Pope, and in his name the king and queen. Dona Juana, our 
lords in his place, as superiors, and lords, and kings of these islands 
and this ten-a Jirma, by virtue of the said donation, and that you 
consent and give place, that these religious fathers should declare and 
preach to you aforesaid. 

"If you do so you will do well, and that which you are obliged to 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



M 



do to their highnesses, and we in their name shall receive you in all ; 
love and charity, and shall leave you, your wives, and your children, 
and your lands, free without servitude, that you may do with them and 
with yourselves freely that which you like and think best ; and they 
shall not compel you to turn Christians, unless you yourselves, when 
informed of the truth, should wish to be converted to our sacred 
Catholic faith, as almost all the inhabitants of the rest of the islands 
have done. And besides this, their highnesses award you many privi- 
leges and exemptions, and will grant you many benefits. 

"But if you do not do this, and maliciously make delay in it^ 
I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter 
into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and 
manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience 
of the Church and of their highnesses ; we shall take you, and your 
wives, and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such 
shall sell and dispose of them as their highnesses may command ; and 
we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and 
damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey and refuse to 
receive their lord, and resist and contradict him ; and we protest that 
the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault, and 
not that of their highnesses, or ours, nor of these cavaliers who come 
with us. And that we have said this to you and made this requisition^ 
we request the notary here present to give us his testimony in writing,, 
and we ask the rest who are present that they should be witnesses of 
this requisition." 

This document, of which it is probable never the like was seen 
before or since, was drawn up by the learned Doctor Palacios Eubios. 
It is chiefly remarkable for its absurd presumption, and a learned 
historian says of it — "I must confess that the comicality of this docu- 
ment has often cheered me in the midst of tedious research or endless 
details of small battles. The logic, the history, even the grammatical 
construction, are all, as it seems to me, alike in error. Stupendous 
assumptions are the staple of the document, and the very terms, such 
as ' Church,' ' privileges,' ' vassalage,' ' exemptions,' are such as require 
a knowledge of Christianity and of the peculiar civilisation of Europe 
for anybody to understand. Then, when it is imagined how little these 
difficulties would be smoothed by translation, we may fancy what ideas ■ 
the reading of the document, even when it was read, conveyed to a 
number of Indians sitting in a circle, squatting on their hams." 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 39 

The requisition was regarded by the Spaniards as a very gracious 
act, and its clauses were not to be indiscriminately applied ; of its 
benefits the Caribs or cannibals were to be no partakers ; they might be 
seized, killed, or enslaved, just as it might suit the convenience of their 
captors. This reservation admitted of all kinds of injustice, as, for 
example, Juan de Castellanos tells us of some Caribs in the neighbour- 
hood of Santa Martha who were called Caribs, and treated as such, 
not because they ate human flesh, but because they defended their 
property. 

Furnished with this wondrous requisition, Pedrarias, with a gallant 
company of fifteen hundred men, set sail from the port of San Lucar 
in a well-appointed fleet on the 12th of April, 1514. At its first outset 
the armament was driven back by stormy weather, but after refitting 
made the voyage without the occurrence of any incident of importance. 
Before reaching Darien the fleet entered a harbour called Santa 
Martha, and the Indians resented the intrusion by wading into the 
water to attack the ships, and by the discharge of poisoned arrows. A 
sally was made by the Spaniards, and several women and children were 
captured. After this adventure the flee-t made its way to Darien. 

On his arrival Pedrarias sent a message to Nunez — he, Pedrarias, 
was the new governor — let Nunez make note of that. The discoverer 
of the South Sea, busy with some labourers putting a straw thatch on 
his house, and attired in no better costume than a cotton shirt, loose 
drawers, and slippers, was happy, so he said, to hear of the governor's 
arrival, and he sent him a respectful welcome, with the assurance that 
the colony was ready to receive him. The colony, consisting only of 
about four hundred and fifty persons, was in no condition to resist the 
fifteen hundred gentlemen from Spain, even had they the desire to do 
so, therefore, in peaceful garb, singing the Te Deum, they went forth 
to meet my lord from Spain, and Pedrarias landed and billeted 
his men. 

Next day Nunez was summoned to the presence of the governor, 
and was requested to give an exact statement of the condition of the 
colony, the disposition of the natives, the discoveries already made, 
and the speediest v/ay to the gathering in of the golden harvest. To 
all inquiries Nunez replied fairly and honestly, and to the best of his 
ability. The penalties which were pronounced against him for certain 
irregularities were withdrawn, and he was invited to assist in the gold 
crusade. V/hile preparations were being made the fifteen hundred 



40 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



gentlemen found themselves uncomfortably circumstanced — there was 
no victuals to be had. The old colonists were not prepared for so 
great an accession to their numbers, and had no means, and perhaps 




no very great desire, to supply their wants. Men in silk and brocade 
fed like cattle on the herbage, fought and struggled for garbage ; one 
of the principal hidalgos went through the streets saying he was 



42 THE GOLDEX A^IERICAS. 

starving, and in siglit of tlie whole town dropped doAvn dead. In less 
than a month seven hundred men perished. 

This terrible calamity delayed the South Sea expedition, but at 
length Pedrarias sent out a captain — Juan de Ayora — with four hun- 
dred men, to make settlements and build fortresses in the lands of the 
caciques Comogre, Pocorosa, and Tubanama. These chiefs had been 
friendly with Nunez, but they found an unrelenting tyrant in Ayora. 
One unfortunate cacique who was unable to supply sufficient gold to 
satisfy his demands was burnt alive ; this terrible lesson had its j 
effect, and gold was brought in abundantly, on receipt of which 
Ayora committed what we should call embezzlement ; he made off 
wilh the money, and gave no account of it to Pedrarias or the King of 
Spain. 

Bachiller Enciso was entrusted with a commission to the caciques 
in Genii, and he read the requisition to them. " They replied to him," 
he tells us, " that, with respect to what I said about there being but 
one God, and that He governed the heaven and the earth, and was 
Lord of all things, that it seemed good to them, and so it must be ; but 
that in Vv4iat I said about the Pope being the lord of all the universe in 
the place of God, and that he had given the land of the Indies to the 
King of Castile, the Pope must have been drunk when he did it, for 
he gave what was not his ; also, that the king who asked for or 
received this gift must be some madman (algun loco), for that he asked 
to have that given him which belonged to others; and they added 
that, should he come there to take it, they would put his head on a 
stake. They were lords of this country, and there was no need of any 
other." Upon receiving this answer, Enciso explained to them what 
dreadful things would be done to them if they did not submit, to which 
they responded that if he were not silent they would put his head on a 
stake, which Enciso seems to think they certainly would have_done if 
it had not been for a vigorous resistance. 'No profitable result came of 
Enciso's mission. 

Other expeditions were fitted out by men who were less scrupulous 
than Enciso, men who ;read or ran through the requisition as boys 
might run through a fifth of November rhyme, and fell upon the 
Indians without pity or remorse. They robbed them, carried off theu" 
wives and daughters, burnt their villages, by way of carrying out the 
instructions they had received at the court of Spain to Christianise thi 
natives. The Cuban hounds were of use to the Spaniards, and we 



he| 
jrel 



THE GOLDEN A^IERICAS. 43 

employed in tracking runaway Indians, and in tearing to pieces 
offenders who had dared to offer opposition to the advance of civilisa- 
tion, as shown by the hidalgos from Europe. 

Among the swaggering Spanish captains who took part in the 
expeditions there was one Gaspar de Morales. He went to look for 
pearls in the Tezarequi islands, with some eighty warriors and as many 
Indians as could be made to serve. On his way he fell in with Captain 
Becerra, who had been capturing slaves and winning gold by torturing 
caciques. There was but small chance of gleaning golden grain when 
Becerra had reaped his harvest, but Morales gathered some handfuls, 
and then directed his attention to the territories of a cacique called 
Biru, very warlike and very rich. Biru is supposed to be a corruption 
of Peru. He approached the city by night most probably, as was the 
fashion, gabbled the requisition in the primeval forest, then v/ith the 
cry of "Santiago!" rushed on the undefended place. There was fire 
and slaughter; the cacique and his people fled, were pursued, turned, 
fought, and fought so obstinately that the Spaniards thought it prudent 
to retire, stabbing their Indian captives at intervals on their march 
back. 

Another expedition was conducted by Captain Becerra. He was 
well furnished with men, and carried with him all the apparatus of war, 
amongst which we are told that he had pieces of artillery capable of 
throwing "balls as big as an egg." No particular kind of egg being 
mentioned, this explanation is scarcely less plain than that " about the 
size of a lump of chalk." However, it was plain so far that Captain 
Becerra was in earnest, and was fully bent on the conversion of the 
caciques. He marched into the province of Cenii, where the people 
were already so well acquainted with Christianity, and had received 
such excellent theological instruction from Spanish captains, that they 
fell upon Becerra and made a swift end of him and his, leaving none 
but an Indian boy to tell the tale to Governor Pedrarias. 

The governor was greatly surprised at the intelligence, and took, 
in a figure, to sackcloth and ashes — that is to say, he ordered a day of 
humiliation. Public prayers were offered to the effect that God would 
be mercifully pleased to withhold His anger, to confound and convert 
the caciques, and uphold the right cause, and the Spanish cause in 
particular, right or wrong. Gonzalo de Badajoz was comforting him- 
self shortly afterwards with the idea that these prayers had been 
answered, for he had killed many Indians and collected a large amount 



44 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

of gold ; but, unfortunately, he was beguiled by a wily Indian into leav- 
ing his station with an insufficient guard, which guard was cut to pieces 
in his absence, and all his heaped-up treasure recaptured by the Indians. 
A further expedition was sent out under one Espinosa, who 
took with him a Franciscan monk, Francisco de San Roman. This 
good man, who it appears was simple enough to believe that the 
Spaniards really wanted to convert the Indians, was horror-stricken at 
what he beheld. He wrote home, begging the authorities ' ' for the 
love of God" to interfere, declaring that in this expedition of Espinosa's 
he had seen forty thousand Indians, with his own eyes, killed by the 
sword or thrown to the dogs. But Espinosa was successful. He got 
back the gold Badajoz had lost, and he brought with him two thousand 



There was one man watching all this very intently, and taking 
note, as it were, for future service : this was Yasco Nunez. He felt 
himself aggrieved at being superseded, and was on the look-out for the 
chance of retaliation. And there was one man watching Yasco Nunez 
very closely, bent on putting an end to him at the first favourable 
opportunity; this was Pedrarias, who, knowing the injustice of his 
own conduct, and the fickleness of kings, was never sure but what the 
South Sea discoverer might be restored to royal favour ; so he hated 
and plotted. 

Pedrarias was right in his surmise. When the court of Spain 
heard of the discovery of the South Sea, Yasco Nunez was regarded as 
a man who had done the state good service. Hitherto it had been the 
practice to speak slightingly of his ability, but the intelligence of what 
he had found, a great sea leading down to the gold regions, changed 
all that, and the good opinion they now entertained of him was likely 
to increase rather than diminish when men came to reflect upon the 
nature of his discoveries, and the mode in which he had followed them 
out. A title was to be bestowed on him ; henceforth he was to be 
known as Adelantado, and to rule as governor in Coyva and Panama. 
The King of Spain did his best to make Pedrarias and Yasco Nunez 
act in concert ; a man may do his best to make oil and water com- 
mingle, and be unsuccessful after all. Pedrarias was jealous, and his 
first intention was to thrust his rival into gaol, and, having thus quietly 
disposed of him, to make his own terms with Spain ; but the Bishop 
of Darien favoured Nunez, and so managed matters as to patch up a 
peace between him and the governor. In order to strengthen this 



I 




46 THE GOLDEN AIVIERICAS. 

alliance, Pedrarias gave Ms daughter in marriage to Nunez, who agreed 
to the terms somewhat unwillingly, seeing that he cared nothing for 
the governor's daughter, but much for a beautiful Indian captive who 
had captivated her captor. 

The rivals being, to all outward appearance, reconciled, Pedrarias 
sent Yasco Nunez to occupy a town in the port of Ada, whence he 
was to prepare to embark for the South Sea. There he set himself to 
the construction of the necessary vessels and the collection of the 
required stores, and in this he was helped by two hundred of Espinosa's 
men, who were growing tired of inactivity. It was hard work. The 
wood had to be cut and made ready at Ada, and thence conveyed 
across the Sierras to the river Valsa, there to construct four brigan- 
tines. A station was built on the top of the Sierras, and thither the 
wood was carried ; the station was distant from Ada twelve miles, and 
the roads were terrible. Five hundred Indians perished, literally 
worked to death, and as they died off fresh impressments were made, 
and the requisite number of Indians forced to labour. It turned out 
that much of the wood was worm-eaten and worthless, and a very 
high tide carried off a great part of their work ; provisions also got 
very short, and altogether Nunez had bad times of it. Still he per- 
severed, and at last succeeded in completing the brigantines, in wliich 
he set sail, with certain of his company, for the Island of Pearls. 

Just about this tune news came that it was probable Pedrarias 
would be superseded, and that one Lope de Sosa would reign in his 
stead. Vasco Nunez was annoyed, because his fortunes seemed now 
bound up with those of his father-in-law, and disgrace to the one 
would mean injury to the other. He was talking one evening with 
two friends about sending Francis Garavik to Ada to ascertain the real 
state of affairs, and to bring back iron and pitch for the completion of 
the other two brigantines. All that he said was in itself perfectly 
harmless ; there was not a shadow of sedition or conspiracy in it, but 
an eavesdropping sentinel heard just enough to make him believe that 
Nunez was bent on making off with the ships, and stripping the Island 
of Pearls for his own special benefit. For the time the sentinel kept 
the secret of what he supposed to be a deep conspiracy, but in course 
of time he allowed his suspicions to escape him ; they were reported to 
Pedrarias, who was already very doubtful of his son-in-law's fidelity. 
Mastering his fury, the old man wrote a crafty letter begging Nunez to 
come to Ada to confer on business. Nunez, without dreaming of 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 47 

treachery, hastened to meet his father-m-law. On the road he fell in 
■with PizaiTO, who had come with soldiers to arrest him. Nunez was 
utterly surprised, but he offered no resistance ; he was thrown into 
confinement, and immediate proceedings taken against him. All sorts 
of false charges were adduced, backed by false evidence, and he was 
cast for death. His implacable father-in-law would listen to no 
appeal, grant no delay, but ordered that the sentence of death should 
at once be carried into effect. The execution took place in a public 
square, and was witnessed by Pedrarias from between the reeds of the 
wall of a house some twelve paces from the scaffold. Nunez and four 
of his officers were beheaded in quick succession during the brief 
twilight of a tropical evening. Pedrarias confiscated the property of 
Nunez, and ordered his head to be impaled upon a pole, and exposed in 
the public square till decomposition should take place. 

All through the story of the Spanish colonisation in the Indies the 
cruelty and injustice of the Spaniards is terribly distinct ; jealous and 
treacherous with regard to each other, they made common cause against 
the Indians, and the suffering of the people is without a parallel. 
Many of the Indians had recourse to suicide as a means of escape, for 
they believed in a future state, and yearned for the rest and peace 
which that state promised. Accordingly, they put themselves to death, 
whole families together, and villages invited other villages to join in 
the exodus from this world. On one occasion a number of Indians 
belonging to one master had resolved to hang themselves, and so to 
escape from their labours and sufferings. Their master Avas made 
aware of this intention, and he came upon them just as they v*^ere about 
to carry it into effect. " Go seek me a rope too," he exclaimed, " for I 
must hang myself with you." He then gave them to understand that 
he could not do without them, they were so useful to him, and that he 
must go where they were going. They, believing that they could not 
get rid of him anywhere, agreed to remain where they were, and with 
sorrow laid aside their ropes to resume their labour. 

When the celebrated Las Casas represented to his bishop the 
inhumanity exercised upon the Indians, and informed hun that seven 
thousand children had been destroyed in three months, the prelate 
broke in with these words : "Look you, you droll fool, what is this to 
me or to the king?" Las Casas answered, " Is it nothing to your lord- 
ship or to the king that all these souls should die ? O great and eternal 
God ! And to whom, then, is it of any concern?" 



48 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



It was soon after this that the king died. 

At the tinae of Ferdinand's death, Juana, the occupant of the throne 
of Castile (for Ferdinand was but regent), and the immediate heiress of 
that of Aragon, was insane, and her eldest son, Charles V., was but in 
his sixteenth year. Ferdinand, therefore, nominated by will a regent to 
the kingdom, choosing the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes for that office. 
The king, when discussing on his death-bed the question of the regency, 
is said to have expressed himself thus : — "If we could make a man for 




INDIAN LABOUKEE. 



the occasion, I should wish for a more tractable one than Ximenes, for 
to deal with the ways of men every day degenerating, after the 
rigorous old fashion which Ximenes holds by, is wont to create 
difficulties in a state." But the king went on to say that the integrity j 
and justness of Ximenes were qualities of the first order ; and then, 
again, that he had no connections among great nobles, and no private 
friendships which he would give way to ; moreover, mindful of the 
benefits he had received from Ferdinand and Isabella, he had been very 
intent upon their aifairs, and, as the king concluded by saying, 
" Ximenes has shown constant and clear examples that he is of our 
mint, if I may so express myself." 

As there is good reason to think that Ferdinand had no special 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



49 



liking for the cardinal, the king's choice does both of them the more 
credit ; and, indeed, of all the men of those times in that kingdom there 
was not one whom we read anything of to be compared with Ximenes, 
especially in the faculty for government. There is now, then, some 
hope that, should he turn his attention to Indian affairs, something- 
distinct and forcible will be done in them. 




INDIAN LABOUHEE. 



Adrian, the Dean of Louvain, who had been Charles Y.'s tutor, and 
who, in the latter days of Ferdinand, had been sent to Spain to watcii 
over the prince's interests, produced powers from the young prince, 
nominating him (Adrian) to the government. Ximenes would not 
admit the validity of these powers, it being contended on his side that 
the regency of Castile had been left by Isabella's will to Ferdinand 
until Charles should be twenty years of age, and consequently that any 
act done by Charles during Ferdinand's life was invalid. On the other 
side it was argued that a regent could not create by will a regency. 



50 THE GOLDEN AISIEKICAS. 

Finalty, it was agreed that tlie question sKould be referred to Charles 
himself for decision, and that, meanwhile, Ximenes and Adrian should 
govern jointly. Afterwards there came a letter from Charles confirming 
the nomination made by Ferdinand's will of Ximenes — or rather the 
recommendation given, for it appears not to have amounted to more 
than that — and putting Adrian into communication with Ximenes, still 
calling the former ambassador. 

Adrian was a quiet, scholastic, just man, with good purposes, and 
very averse to much business. He could not have had any prepon- 
derating influence in affairs, and is said to have sent a complaint to 
Flanders of the way in which Ximenes took aU the government upon 
himself. Afterwards the Flemish ministers of Charles sent over 
Monsieur de Laxaos, a great wit, and one of Charles's household, and 
also, at a subsequent period, another Fleming, to act in concert with 
the cardinal, who received them courteously, but did not admit them to 
much authority. One day, when they must have been in a daring mood, 
they resolved to exercise some poAver independently of the cardinal- 
governor, and affixed their names first to some documents, leaving 
Ximenes to add his. The cardinal sent for the clerk who drew up the 
document, tore it up, bade him write out another, and it is said that 
thenceforward the cardinal did not trouble his so-called colleagues for 
their signatures. There is no doubt that this was not mere arrogance, 
but that he acted strictly within the limits of his power. And really a 
regency is sufficiently weak of itself without being cumbered with 
unwelcome colleagues of dubious powers and unfriendly intentions. 
Moreover, the cardinal had quite enough to contend against from his 
own countrymen in the exercise of his functions. Of the high-handed 
way in which he managed them there is the well-known story of his 
reply to certain Spanish grandees who wished to be informed of the 
grounds of his authority, whereupon he showed them the documents 
upon which it rested — namely, the will of Ferdinand and the written 
approbation of Charles ; then, leading them to a window, requested 
them to look out on a large body of troops with a park of cannon, 
which he suggested to them were the ultimate reasoning of kings. 

There is another story of him not so often mentioned, but which is 
very significant. The Duke de Infantado, being highly incensed 
against Ximenes, sent a priest of his ducal household with a most in- 
suiting message to the cardinal, reproaching him, amongst other things, 
with his low origin. The priest, after kneeling down and begging the 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 51 

cardinars pardon for what he was about to say, said it. His eminence 
asked the priest if he had anything more to say. He replied, " No," 
on which the cardinal made this answer: "Return to your master, 
whom you will find already regretting his insolent and foolish message." 
And so it proved to be.* 

From these particulars we may form some idea of the character of 
the celebrated cardinal. He had not been careless about the Indians, 
and had felt the responsibility involved in setting up colonies amongst 
them. In accordance with the faith he held, it was plain to him that 
all hope of a future happy life depended on inducing the Indians to 
accept the doctrines of Christianity and to submit to the rite of baptism. 
No doubt he had done what he could, but it had not, until the time to 
which we now allude, been a matter in which he could very well 
practically interfere. The statements of Las Casas were to hun 
astounding, but he listened with patience. 

Xunenes had taken considerable interest in the affairs of the 
Americas, and when, after the decease of the king, he became 
acquainted, through Las Casas, with the deplorable condition of the 
Indians, his zeal and sympathy were excited on their behalf. He 
thoroughly inquired into the whole matter, and he resolved on com- 
missioning proper persons to instruct the Indians, and to look after 
their welfare. He was of opinion that fit and proper men for this 
work might be found amongst the Jeronimites, and he wrote to the 
principal of their order on the subject. Las Casas, who was naturally 
anxious about the answer of the Jeronimites, went one Sunday morning 
to hear mass at their convent near to Madrid ; there he found a vene- 
rable man praying in the cloister. Upon asking him whether there 
was any reply to the cardinal's missive, the old man told him that he 
was one of the priors who had brought an answer, that they arrived 
last night, and that the cardinal, having been made aware of their 
arrival, was to come to the convent that day. 

Accordingly, in the course of the day, the cardinal and Adrian 
came with a cavalcade of courtiers to the convent. The monks received 
the Junta in the sacristy, the main body of the courtiers remaining out- 
side in the choir ; amongst them, doubtless to his no small chagrin, the 
Bishop of Burgos, long accustomed to direct Indian affairs, but now of 
no authority in these matters. 

* The Conquerors of the New World. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 53 

The cardinal, after thanking the order for the tenor of their reply, 
and magnifying the work in hand, desired Las Casas to be called for, 
who, to his great delight, walked through the assembled courtiers, much 
regarded by them, and, as he conjectured, most regarded by the Bishop 
of Burgos. Entering the sacristy. Las Casas knelt before the cardinal, 
who told him to thank God that the desires which God had given him 
were in the way of being accomplished. The cardinal then told him 




CARDINAL XIMENES. 



that the priors had brought twelve names of persons who might be 
chosen for the work, but that three would suffice. His eminence added 
that this night Las Casas should have letters of credit to the general of 
the Jeronimites, and money for his journey, and that he was to go and 
confer with that prelate about the choice of the three, informing the 
general of the requisite qualities for the office in question. Las Casas 
was then to bring to court the first Jeronimite he should make choice 
of ; the despatches should be prepared, and he might at once set off 
for Seville. 

Observe throughout that nothing lingers in the cardinal's hands. 
Commonplace statesmen live by delay, believe in it, hope in it, pray to 
it ; but his eminence worked as a man who knew that the night was 
coming, " in which no man can work." 



54 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Las Casas, almost in tears with joy, poured out ibis tliank« and 
blessings on the cardinal, and concluded by saying that the money was 
not necessary, for that he had enough to sustain him in this business. 
The cardinal smiled and said, " Go to, Padre ; I am richer than you 
are." (Anda, Padre; que yo soy mas rico que vos.) And then Las Casas 
went out, " the cardinal saying many favourable things of some one 
who shall be nameless." * 

Jealousy and envy did what they could to depreciate Las Casas in 
the opinion of the cardinal, but they failed in making any serious 
impression, and the preparations for departure were carried on with all 
possible rapidity. The mission given in trust to Las Casas and those 
who accompanied him was of great importance. He was empowered 
to free the Indians from forced labour, to form them into little common- 
wealths, owning allegiance to the Spanish sovereignty ; he was to see 
that they were instructed in the Christian faith, and to guard them 
from all ill-treatment on the part of the Spanish colonists. The Jeroni- 
mite fathers, on arriving in the " Indies," appear to have been far too 
peaceful to do much for the relief of the people, and impressed Indians 
still worked in the mines, while those who resisted were hanged or 
burnt alive. " They were all," as Peter Martyr says, " horrid transac- 
tions, nothing pleasant in any of them." In the meantime, discovery 
went on of new lands, and what was called a Council of Discovery was 
appointed by the Spanish authorities. 

Juan Diaz de Solis, who, with Janez Pinzon, Amerigo Vespucci, 
and Juan de la Cosa, the pilot of Columbus, was a member of the 
Spanish council appointed to deliberate upon discoveries yet to 
be made, sailed to South America in 1514, and, doubling Capes 
St. Eoque, St. Augustin, and Frio, entered the bay upon which now 
stands the city of Rio Janeiro, and was probably the first European 
to set foot upon the coast thus far to the south. He supposed the 
bay to be the mouth of a passage through to the South Sea so lately 
discovered by Balboa. He proceeded to the south, ascertaining the 
position of every headland and indentation with all the precision the 
instruments and science of the time would permit. At last he found 
a great opening of the sea towards the west : he took possession of the 
northern coast for the King of Spain, and named the gulf Fresh-water 
Sea. Su.bsequently, finding that it was a river, and that silver mines 

* The Conqi'.erors of the New JVorld. 



THE GOLDEN" AISIEIIICAS. 55 

existed there, lie named tlie stream Eio de la Plata. The Indians 
called it Paraguaza. He found the country fertile and attractive, and 
aoundance of the wood Avhich had given to the whole region the name 
of Brazil. He went on shore with a small party, but soon fell into an 
ambuscade laid for them by the natives. Solis and five of his com- 
panions were taken, killed, roasted, and devoured by the horrible 
cannibals who inhabited the country. The Spaniards who remained on 
board the ships witnessed the shocking catastrophe, which so appalled 
and horrified them that they fled in dismay and sailed back to Spain. 

We now find the Pope of Pome the great authority and arbitrator 
in those days, issuing an ultimatum which should henceforth close for 
ever all disputes as to the rival claims of Spain and Portugal. His 
holiness foresaw that between tv/o such powerful nations, each bent on 
discovery and appropriation, a collision was almost certain ; and that, 
without the pastoral crook separated the belligerents, much Christian 
blood might be shed in the capture of " salvages" and the spoliation of 
new countries. To guard against this evil the Poman bishop declared 
that all new lands hereafter to be discovered to the east of the Azores 
should belong to the crown of Portugal, and that all those which were 
discovered to the west of the Azores should become the property of 
Spain. 

In spite of Columbus and Da Gama, the infallible Pope ignored 
the world's rotundity, and insisted upon its being flat — an undulating 
plane under a canopy of sky. Of course ships, so argued the Pope, 
might go on sailing to the east or to the west for ever, and the farther 
they sailed the greater distance they must necessarily put between each 
other ; that they should ever meet at the antipodes was an extravagant 
idea not to be recognised by the wearer of the fisherman's ring. Unfortu- 
nately for the Pope's decree, the Portuguese and Spaniards did meet, and 
blood and murder was the result ; and an envious and implacable hatred 
sprang out of it which could not be suppressed by any Papal bull 
whatever. 

There was a Portuguese, lernao Magalhaens, or, we should say, 
Ferdinand Magellan, by name, who had served with some distinction in 
the East Indies, but found his claims slighted at home, and himself 
treated with that cool and quiet contempt which is perhaps more exas- 
perating than open injustice. He withdrew to Spain, became intimate 
with a fellow-countryman — Puy Falero — who had been scouted as a 
charlatan. By this man's advice he applied to Cardinal Ximenes, asking 



56 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



to be sent out on a voyage of discovery. The plan was simple. What- 
ever the Pope of Rome might affirm to the contrary, he was satisfied of 
the spherical form of the world. Now Colmnbus had started upon his 
voyage to the west in order to reach the East Indies by a western 




route, and he had failed. Magellan proposed to seek the Portuguese 
Spice Islands — the Moluccas — by sailing, if possible, from the Atlantic 
into the South Sea, discovered five years before by Nunez. His idea was 
to attempt to find a passage through the mainland of South America by 



58 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

tlie Rio de la Plata or some other channel opening upon its eastern 
coast. Should this succeed, Spain would possess the East Indies as 
well as the West ; since if the Moluccas were discovered by the way of 
the west, even though situated to the east, they would fall expressly 
within the allotment made by the Papal bull. 

Ximenes saw the force of IMagellan's theory, and a Spanish fleet of 
five vessels was equipped and placed under the command of Magellan. 
He was to be the governor of any islands he might discover, and was to 
take a twentieth part of the clear profit of the expedition. The fleet 
sailed from Seville on the 10th of August, 1519. 

Magellan reached Teneriffe in six days. Of this island the historian 
of the voyage, Pigafetta, tells many strange stories. It never rains 
there, he says, and there was neither river nor spring in the island. 
The leaves of a tree, however, which was constantly surrounded by a 
thick mist, distilled excellent water which was collected in a pit at its 
foot, where the inhabitants and the wild beasts assembled to quench 
their thirst. Passing the equinoctial line and steering south-west, 
Magellan came, about the middle of December, to the coast of Brazil. 
There he found the natives willing to trade, and the trade was exceed- 
ingly profitable to the Spaniards. To obtain a couple of geese for a 
small comb ; for a little piece of glass, fish enough to make a meal for 
ten men ; a large basket of potatoes for a yard of ribbon, was not bi 
for the Dons. One sailor nrade a little fortune out of a pack of playin; 
cards, obtaining no less than six fat chickens for the king of spades. 
Pursuing their voyage, they coasted the land for about two months, and 
came to a country which at first they took to be uninhabited, but at] 
last a man of gigantic stature presented himseK upon the shore. Hi 
was in a state of utter nudity. By friendly gestures he was induced to 
come to the spot where jMagellan had landed, and there he was regaled 
with some cooked meat. Several of the people afterwards came on 
board ship, and intimated that they regarded their visitors as having 
dropped from the sky. These savages Magellan called Patagonians, 
from words indicating the resemblance of their feet, when shod with 
the skin of the llama, to bears' feet. There is no doubt that the state- 
ments made with regard to the Patagonians were grossly exaggerated, 
but the narrative is still full of interest. To drink half a pail of water 
at a draught, to swallow live mice, to inflict a violent gash in the fore- 
head for the cure of the head, to thrust a spear down their throats to 
make them vomit, are matters we are not obliged to credit ; but that 



THE GOLDEN AiMEPaCAS. 59 

ii the Patagonians were an extraordinary people there is no reason to 

i dispute. 

i We need not follow Magellan through the rest of his voyage. Sailing 
through the straits which bear his name, he found — in spite of the Pope's 
bull — that Columbus was right, and that the world was round. 



CHAPTER III. 

Hernan Cortes : a Lawyer, a Soldier, an Adventurer— Finds Favour with Ovando 
— Serves under Yelasquoz — Mexico— Receives his Commission to Explore 
and Conquer Mexico — Touches at Cozumel — Finds an Interpreter — Tabasco 
— A Battle and a Yictory — Female Slaves — San Juan de UUoa— Deputies — 
A Message to the King— The King's Answer— "A house divided against 
itself" — March upon Mexico — Montezuma— A Bold Expedient— Battles — 
Treachery— The Search of All : Tliirst for Gold— Triumph of Spanish Arms 
in Mexico — End of Cortes. 

TTERNAN CORTES was born at Medellin, a small town of Estre- 
-*--*- madura, in the year 1485. He was intended for the legal 
profession, but became disgusted with it long before he had com- 
pleted his studies, and, turning his attention to soldiering, took service 
under the famous Gonsalvo de Cordova. But his military aspirations 
were disappointed, he being seized with a severe illness which for the 
time entirely prostrated his energies, and when he recovered, his oppor- 
tunity of accompanying De Cordova \^as lost. Bent upon adventure, 
and with an eye to profit, he looked longingly towards the Western 
Indies, where the Spaniards were reaping, or were said to be reaping, 
golden harvests. 

At the age of nineteen, with certain letters of introduction, he 
went to the island of St. Domingo, and was there very kindly received 
by Ovando, the governor. Thanks to this patronage he obtained 
several lucrative appointments, and in this way he spent seven years. 
At the end of that period he accompanied Don Diego Velasquez to 
Cuba, where he became Alcade of San Jago, and is said to have 
exhibited great ingenuity on several occasions. But a larger sphere 
was needed for the display of his abilities, and an opportunity soon 
offered well calculated to test his powers. 

Mexico had just been discovered by Grijalva, a lieutenant of 
Velasquez'. This man had not attempted to found a colony, nor had 
he taken solemn possession in the name of Spain. This was resented 



60 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



by Velasquez, who commissioned Cortes to subjugate the newly- dis- 
covered country, a work which he was very well pleased to accept. 
Hastening his departure, Cortes set sail from San Jago on the 18th of 
November, 1518, with ten vessels, seven or eight hundred Spaniards, 
eighteen horsemen, and several pieces of cannon. Velasquez ha\'ing 




CHEISTOPHEB COLUMBIIS. 



a sort of premonition that the conquest of Mexico would be a matter 
of importance, and reflect credit on the conqueror, began when it was 
too late to regret that he had not undertaken the work himself. He 
made an effort to recall the commission, and meditated on shutting 
up Cortes in gaol ; but the time was past when he could change his 
original purpose, and Cortes was on his way to Mexico. 

Touching at the island of Cozumel, Cortes found a Spaniard named 



THE GOLDEN AIVIERICAS. 



61 



Jerome de Aquilar, who had been detained captive amongst the Indians 
for eight years. Without much difficulty he effected his release, and 




was amply rewarded, as the man was thoroughly versed in many of 
the Indian dialects, and was consequently exceedingly useful as an 
interpreter. From Cozumel Cortes proceeded to the river of Tabasco, 



62 THE GOLDEN AilERICAS. 

where he found the people hostile to his designs, and by no means 
willing to listen to his friendly overtures. He was not likely to hesitate 
on the course to be taken, but immediately opened fire and effected a 
landing. In the battle which followed the Mexicans were utterly 
beaten, and compelled to acknowledge the King of Castile as their 
sovereign, to grant Cortes a good supply of provisions, to give gold 
and slaves, and a quantity of cotton garments. 

Continuing his voyage westward, he reached San Juan de Ulloa. 
No sooner had his vessels entered the harbour than a large and hand- 
some canoe, full of people, shoved off the shore and approached the 
ships. Among those in the canoe were two persons evidently of 
superior station ; they were, in fact, deputies from Tentile and Piepatoe, 
two officers intrusted with the government of the province by the 
monarch, Montezuma. These men came on board Cortes' ship and 
addressed him in most respectful terms. The language, however, 
which they employed was entirely unknown to Aquilar, his intei-preter, 
and the position was awkward and embarrassing. Cortes saw that 
these men were no rude savages, with whom all necessary communi- 
cation might be -sustained by signs ; they were men of intelligence and 
good breeding, and felt the awkwardness of the dilemma as much as 
did Cortes himself. Happily one of the female slaves — known after- 
wards as Donna Marina — ^presented to Cortes at Tabasco, came to his 
relief. She, it appeared, was by birth a Mexican, but had fallen into 
the clutches of the Tabascans in early life. There she had acquired 
their language, but had not forgotten her own ; so with her help and 
that of Aquilar, Cortes and his visitors were enabled to converse, Cortes 
addressing Aquilar in Spanish, Aquilar translating to the woman in 
Tabascan, the woman re -translating to the Mexicans. It was a pon- 
derous and difficult mode of arriving at a correct understanding on 
either side, and doubtless many blunders were made, but it was the 
only available plan. 

Cortes was informed of the condition of his visitors, and assured of 
the good feeling of the Mexicans. They would be glad to know the 
object of his visit, and if it were in their power to render him any 
assistance they would do so very readily. Cortes declared in respectful 
language that he entertained the most friendly feeling towards the 
Mexicans, and that his object in visiting them was to propose certain 
great measures to their prince, Montezuma, that the propositions he 
had to make were for the welfare and prosperity of the people, and 



THE GOLDEX AMERICAS. 63 

tliiit lie would take an early opportunity of explaining liimself more 
fully to the governor. 



Cortes indeed took the earliest opportunity; for the next mor 



nmo-, 



o? 



without waiting for any further communication from the authorities^ 
he landed his troops, horses, and artillery, established himself in a 
fortified camp, and began to erect huts for his men. So far from 
offering any resistance, the natives rendered them every assistance with 
a good-humour and alacrity which were fatal to themselves. 

On the next day the governors of the province, Tentile and Piepatoe, 
arrived at the camp of Cortes, attended by a magnificent retinue 
bearing |)resents of fine cotton, gorgeous plumes, and golden orna- 
ments for their visitors. Cortes received them with marked respect, 
informed them that he was the ambassador from Don Carlos of Austria, 
King of Castile, and that he was commissioned to submit weighty 
matters to the sovereign of Mexico. The deputies endeavoured to 
make him understand that they would undertake to communicate with 
the king if he wouid be pleased to acquaint them with the pro]DOsitions 
he had to make. This Cortes haughtily declined ; representing his 
royal master, he could communicate with nothing less than royalty 
itself. In vain they attempted to dissuade him from his purpose, 
foreseeing evil if he penetrated to their capital; but Cortes was not to 
be dissuaded, and could hardly conceal his impatience. 

Observing among the Mexican retinue some artists making sketches 
of his camp and artillery, and noticing the wonder which his people 
excited, he resolved on still further increasing their surprise. Cour- 
teously inviting the deputies to witness some of the mihtary manoeuvres 
of Europe, he caused his troops to go through a sham battle, in which 
fche guns and horses so terrified the poor deputies that it was with 
difficulty they could be reassured of the friendly intentions of Cortes. 
Pictures were made of all that the Mexicans esteemed most interesting, 
md these were forwarded to Montezuma, vrith a present from Cortes of 
European curiosities, together with a courteous message. 

Thanks to the high state of civilisation to which the Mexicans 
lad arrived, the present and message vrere conveyed to the capital, a 
iistance of 180 miles from San Juan de Ulloa, in a space of time which 
j yould then have been deemed incredible in Europe. As soon as the 
dng's answer was received, the same ofiicers who had hitherto treated 
?ith the Spaniards were employed to deliver it. Their mission was 
lelicate and not without danger, for ]Montezuma had indignantly 



64 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

refused to receive tlie stranger, and while sending him handsome 
presents, desired him immediately to quit the country. The deputies 
did not at the first declare the mind of the king to Cortes, but they 
introduced the presents borne by one hundred slaves. It was a brilHant 
display which these presents made as they were spread out on mats in 
order to show them to the best advantage. Cortes and his officers 
viewed with admiration the various manufactures of the country ; 
cotton stuffs so fine and of such delicate texture as to resemble silk ; 
pictures of animals, trees, and other natural objects, formed of feathers 
of different colours, disposed and mingled with such skill and elegance 
as to rival the works of the pencil in truth and beauty of imitation. 
But what chiefly attracted their eyes were two large plates of a circular 
form, one of massive gold representing the sun ; the other of silver, 
an emblem of the moon. These were accompanied with bracelets, 
rings, collars, and other trinkets of gold ; and that nothing might be 
wanting in order to give the Spaniards a complete idea of what the 
country afforded, there were some boxes filled with pearls, precious 
stones, and gold unwrought, as found in the mines or rivers. 

Cortes received the presents graciously enough, but when he heard 
the message that the Mexican monarch would not permit the approach 
of foreign troops on his capital, and that he desired the Spaniards 
would immediately withdraw from his territory, he became peremptory. 
As the representative of the great king, his master, he insisted on a 
personal interview, and declared that he could not and would not 
return to his own country until he had accomplished his purpose. 

The Mexicans were astounded at his daring ; that any man should 
presume to dispute the will of their king was a thing unparalleled. 
Cortes had placed matters on the footing of a speedy issue — either 
Montezuma would receive him as friend or enemy, either he would 
have his interview by favour or force ; there was no convenient middle 
course left open. It seems a daring thing for any man to have done, 
but there was less daring than may be supposed. Cortes knew well 
that, highly civilised as the Mexicans were in many respects, they 
A^ere terrified by his cannon and surprised by his horsemen — he had 
novelties which put to flight their courage. At that time the Mexican 
Empire had attained a pitch of grandeur to which no society ever rose 
in so short a period. Though it had subsisted, according to their own 
traditions, only a hundred and thirty years, its dominions extended from 
the JSTorth to the South Sea, over territory stretching, with some small 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 



65 



interruption, above five hundred leagues from east to west, and more 
than two hundred from north to south, comprehending provinces not 
inferior in fertility, population, and opulence to any in the torrid zone. 
The people were warlike and enterprising; the authority of the 
monarch unbounded, and his revenue considerable. If, with the forces 
which might have been suddenly assembled in such an empire, Monte- 
zuma had fallen upon the Spaniards while encamped on a barrer, 




SETTLEMENT NEAR ZEMPOALLA. 



unhealthy coast, unsupported by any ally, without a place of retreat, 
and destitute of provisions, it seems impossible that, even with all the 
advantages they possessed, they could but by flight have saved them- 
selves from utter destruction. 

But one of the main difficulties with which Cortes had to contend 
was found in the adherents of Velasquez, who began to murmur and 
cabal, and to urge upon the commander the preposterous character of 
the idea which led him to imagine that with so inadequate a force he 
could conquer the vast empire of Mexico. Cortes listened to their 

F 



66 THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 

arguments, and professed to accede to their wishes, going so far, 
indeed, as to promise that on the next day they would set out on the 
return voyage. He reckoned on the temper of his own men — the wild 
adventurers who had followed his fortunes in order to make their own, 
and who, having now had some experience of the treasures of Mexico, 
would not be likely to yield to pusillanimous coimsel. He was not 
mistaken. As soon as the report spread that the conquest of Mexico was 
to be abandoned, loud indignation was expressed in the camp, accom- 
panied with threats against those who had suggested it ; the adven- 
turers declared it to be unworthy of Castilian courage thus to fly at the 
first appearance of danger, and that it was exhibiting a marvellous 
want of faith in the Holy One, who had doubtless sent them thither to 
impart the blessings of Christianity to the benighted people. They 
swore if Cortes would lead them on they would cheerfully follow him 
to conquest or death, and that if lie chose to listen to the voice of timid 
counsellors and to return to Cuba, they would appoint a new commander 
and complete the conquest without him. 

This was precisely what Cortes had foreseen. He knew the temper 
of his men too well to doubt them. Affecting surprise at their altered 
resolve, he expressed his willingness to be their leader, and without 
allowing them time to cool or. reflect, he set about carrying his design 
into execution. 

His first step was to constitute a form of civil government on the 
model of a Spanish corporation. All the persons chosen were adherents 
of his own, and the instrument of their election was drawn out in the 
king's name, and contained no allusion to Yelasquez. At the first 
meeting of the council Cortes applied for leave to enter, approach- 
ing with every mark of profound respect, and in a long harangue 
explained that after the legal constitution of the new court, represen- 
tative of the Spanish monarchy, it would ill become him to hold a 
commission granted by lesser authority ; he would, therefore, resign 
his truncheon and commission received from Velasquez. His resigna- 
tion was promptly accepted, but the council thought so highly of his 
merits that, in the king's name, they elected him chief justice of the 
colony and commander-general of the forces, which offices he was 
empowered to hold until such time as the royal will might be made 
known on the matter. 

This complete triumph— -this coup d'etat — placed Cortes in the 
possession of unlimited authority, and he acted upon it with that 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 67 

caution and circumspection which, might have been expected from 
him. 

Although the Spaniards were few in number, and the Mexicans a 
great people, Cortes had been advised that there were dissensions and 
jealousies amongst them, and that some of the caciques or petty princes 
would be only too ready to assist him in his premeditated attack on 
Montezuma. Of the truth of this he soon had evidence. Some Indians 
approaching the camp in a mysterious manner, were encouraged to 
trust in the friendliness of the Spaniards. They stated that the people, 
both of Quaibislan and the Zempoallians, were willing to make a 
treaty with the strangers, relying for success in their rebellion upon 
the assistance thus to be obtained. Cortes acceded, destroyed his fleet, 
and made a treaty with the Indians. 

In the year 1519 Cortes began his march from Zempoalla, with five 
hundred men, fifteen horse, and six field-pieces. The rest of his 
troops, consisting chiefly of such as from age or infirmity were less fit 
for active service, he left as a garrison in Villa Eica. The cacique of 
Zempoalla supplied him with provisions and Indians, whose ojEce was 
to carry burdens, and to perform all servile labour, who greatly relieved 
the Spanish soldiers in carrying their baggage and dragging along the 
•artillery. He offered, likewise, a considerable body of his troops, but 
Cortes was satisfied with four hundred. Nothing memorable occurred 
until he arrived on the confines of Tlascala. The inhabitants of that 
province were fierce, warlike, and high-spirited, though less advanced 
in civilisation than the subjects of Montezuma, to whom they were 
implacable enemies, and had been united in an ancient alliance with 
the caciques of Zempoalla. Cortes, though he had received informa- ' 
tion of the martial character of this peojDle, flattered himself that his 
professions of delivering the oppressed from the tyranny of Montezuma 
might induce them to grant him a friendly reception ; but instead of 
the favourable answer which was expected, the Tlascalans seized the 
ambassadors, and, without any regard to their public character, made 
preparations for sacrificing them to their gods. At the same time they 
assembled their troops, in order to oppose those unknown invaders if 
they should attempt to pass through their country by force of arms. 
They concluded, from Cortes' proposal of visiting Montezuma in his 
capital, that, notwithstanding all his professions, he courted the friend- 
ship of a monarch whom they both hated and feared. In addition to 
this, they despised the small number of the Spaniards ; as they had not 



68 



THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 



yet measured their own strength with that of these new enemies, they 
had no idea of the superiority which they derived from their arms and 
discipline. 




HEKNAN C OKIES. 



Cortes, having waited some days in vain for the return of his 
ambassadors, advanced into the Tlascalan territory, where he found 
their troops in the field, who attacked him with great intrepidity, and, 
in the first encounter, wounded some of the Spaniards and killed Wcf 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



69 



horses — a loss, in their situation, of great moment, as it was irreparable. 
After this, Cortes proceeded with more caution, and fortified every 




MONTEZUMA. 



camp with extraordinary care — measures which were highly necessary, 
as, for fourteen days, the Tlascalans continued their almost uninter- 
rupted assaults with a degree of perseverance and valour to which the 



70 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Spaniards had seen notlimg parallel in the New World. Though this 
very warlike people brought into the field armies which appear, as 
regards their numbers, sufficient to overwhelm the Spaniards, their 
want of military order and discipline, with their constant solicitude to 
carry off the dead and wounded, prevented their making any permanent 
impression on their enemies. In addition to this, their very defective 
weapons, though used with the greatest courage, were insuf&cient to 
penetrate the quilted jackets which the soldiers wore ; so that though 
many of the Spaniards were wounded none were killed. The Tlascalans 
also, in accordance with their custom, gave their enemies due notice 
of their attacks, and also sent them a large supply of poultry and 
maize, as they scorned to attack an enemy enfeebled by hunger, and it 
would be an affront to their gods to offer them famished victims, as 
well as disagreeable to themselves to feed on such emaciated prey. 

As Cortes pursued his march he observed, and not without 
astonishment, that everything wore an air of an advanced civilisation 
and great prosperity. At last he came within sight of the city of 
Mexico ; i^ the middle of a vast plain, partly encompassed by a lake, 
and partly built on the island within it, the city towered aloft like 
some gorgeous creation of fairyland. The Spaniards could scarcely 
believe their senses as they saw every instant new proofs of the im- 
mense wealth and apparently boundless resources of the sovereign of 
Mexico. 

Montezuma would fain have excused himself from an inter- 
view with the strangers, and when they were within but a short 
distance of his capital, he sent out ambassadors endeavouring to pacify 
with presents those whose approach he so dreaded ; but Cortes would 
listen to no terms, not even from the lips of the king's closest relations; 
he was resolved on seeing the monarch. Of course he represented 
himself as personally of no importance, but as the agent of the 
sovereignty of Spain as a man of infinite consequence, who dare not 
submit his master's interests, or respect, or dignity, in any way to the 
caprice or humour of another monarch. So that at length Montezuma, 
finding it impossible to rid himself of his troublesome and uninvited 
guest, went forth to meet him on the plains of Mexico. 

Montezuma was then forty years of age, of a good stature, a dark 
complexion, a cheerful countenance, wore short hair, and a little black 
beard. He hved in extraordinary magnificence, both with regard to 
the number of his courtiers and the extent of his army. When he 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 71 

went to the Ca, or temple, he carried a staff made half of wood and 
half of gold. He was always preceded by the chief officers of state, 
two of whom bore maces, emblematic of truth and justice. All this 
display had its effect on Cortes ; he saw plainly enough that he had 
not to deal with savages, but this did not in the least degree alter his 
determination of annexing Mexico to Spain. 

When they drew near the city, about a thousand persons advanced 
with the greatest pomp, and individually saluted Cortes. These were 
followed by a company of the highest rank, dressed in the most 
splendid habiliments. In the midst of this company was Montezuma, 
in a chair or litter, richly ornamented Vv^ith gold, jewels, and feathers 
of various colours. Four of his principal favourites carried him on 
their shoulders, others supporting a canopy of curious workmanship 
over his head. When he drew near, Cortes dismounted, advancing 
towards him with officious haste, and in a respectful posture. Monte- 
zuma saluted him with the utmost respect, insomuch that the con- 
descension of ordinarily so proud a monarch most fully impressed the 
people with the idea of the Spaniards being divinities. Montezuma con- 
ducted Cortes to the quarters which he had prepared for his reception, 
and immediately took leave of him with a politeness not unworthy of a 
court more refined. 

" You are now," says he, " with your brothers in your own house. 
Refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return." 

The place allotted for their lodging was surrounded by a stone wall 
with towers at proper distances, and its apartments and courts were so 
large as to accommodate both the Spaniards and their Indian allies. 
The first care of Cortes was to take precautions for his security, and to 
enjoin on his numerous sentinels the strictest vigilance. 

In the evening Montezuma returned in a similar manner, and 
brought presents of such value to every one of his followers as showed 
both the liberality of the monarch and the opulence of his kingdom. 
Cortes had a long conference with the monarch, in which the latter 
informed them that their coming perfectly agreed with an ancient 
tradition of the Mexicans, of the founder of their colony promising 
that his descendants should visit them, and reform their constitution 
and assume the government, and desired that the Spaniards should 
consider themselves as masters in his dominions, for both himself and 
his subjects should be ready to comply with their will, and even to 
anticipate their wishes. Cortes replied in his usual style with respect 



72 THE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 

to the dignity and power of his sovereign, and made his speech coincide 
with the tradition he had just heard. 

All the wealth displayed, all the hospitality shown, only served still 
further to arouse the avarice and cupidity of the Spaniards ; they were, 
or fancied they were, in the very midst of inexhaustible treasure ; they 
had but to put forth their hands and take of the fruit of the tree of 
mercenary life. 

Cortes and some of his officers expressed a strong desire to be- 
hold the famous temple of Ca, to which allusion has already been 
made, and Montezuma, so far from offering any opposition, most 
courteously acceded to their request. Amid an astounding display of 
pomp he himself led them to the sacred pile. It was approached by an 
ascent of 114 steps. From the top of the temple Montezuma showed 
them the whole of the city — a panorama unequalled in the world. 
Most of the city was within the lake to which those dykes conducted, 
each one having a drawbridge to cut off communication with the 
mainland when it might be thought desirable to do so. Montezuma 
conducted his visitors to the temple of the god of war, also to the 
temple of the god of the infernal regions — ^both these gods were sup- 
posed to be brothers, as if war and the devil had something to do with 
one another, and their temples, as an old writer informs us, were " full 
of a deadly stench, caused by the men there sacrificed." 

Montezuma having thus courteously entreated his guests, gave 
them into the charge of his nephews, with strict injunctions to behave 
to them respectfully and hospitably. Cortes and his chief officers were 
lodged in a palace which had formerly been inhabited by Montezuma's 
father, and the soldiers were all freely and comfortably quartered. 

It seems not only cruel but atrociously wicked of the Spaniards to 
accept of this gratuitous kindness, knowing well, as they did, what 
they purposed doing ; but the spell of gold was upon them — they were 
overcome of Mammon — 

" The least erected spirit in heaven. 
For even in heaven his looks and thouglits were alway downward bent. 
Admiring more the riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold, 
Than aught divine or holy." 

Of all the princes who had swayed the Mexican sceptre Montezuma 
was the most haughty, the most violent, the most spirited. He was 
impatient of control; his subjects looked up to him with awe, and 
his enemies with terror. The former he governed with unexampled 



I 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



73 



rigour ; but they were impressed with so high an opinion of his capa- 
city that they offered no opposition. As to the neighbouring princes, he 




MEXICAN IDOL AND ALTAR. 



defeated them in almost every battle that was fought, until resistance 
to the great Montezuma appeared to be madness. But though the 
talents of Montezuma might be admirably adapted to the transaction 



74 THE GOLDEN ALIERICAS. 

of affairs of state in a country like Mexico, they were altogether in- 
adequate to a conjuncture so extraordinary as that of the arrival and 
haughty demands of tlie strangers. From the instant the Spaniards 
appeared on his coasts the king began to exliibit symptoms of embar- 
rassment and timidity. Instead of taking such resolutions as the 
consciousness of his own power or the memory of his former exploits 
might have inspired, he deliberated with an anxiety and hesitation 
which did not escape the attention of his meanest courtiers. Some- 
thing of superstition there was mixed up with this strange irresolution 
on the part of the king. The people, a3 well as their monarch, felt 
that some great calamity was impending. There was a belief that a 
formidable race of invaders should one day come from towards the 
regions of the rising sun and overrun and desolate their country. The 
daring behaviour of the Spaniards favoured the idea that these were 
the men of whom their oracle had spoken, and although Montezuma 
talked in a vain rage about sacrificing these insolent men to the honour 
of the gods, he made no show of resistance when they made their 
appearance. 

So the Spaniards settled in Montezuma's capital, and professed 
to be devoutly religious men — ^men who if they stole a pig would 
certainly devote the trotters to God's glory. Thus it came to pass 
one day that as the soldiers were searching about for a place to make 
a Christian church in, they broke through into an apartment the 
door of which had been lately closed up, and there they found a great 
quantity of gold and jewels, for it was the chief treasure-chamber of 
Montezuma. They saw the rich nuggets and the sparkling gems — they 
felt the desire to appropriate all they saw, but Cortes did not think the 
affair was yet sufficiently ripe for an open display of violence. They 
consequently reclosed the apartments, but forgot no more than did 
Fatima what the secret chamber held. 

Cortes was determined to obtain possession of the person of the 
monarch. With Montezuma once fairly, or foully, in his hands, he felt 
certain that he could obtain what terms he pleased to demand. It was 
about this time that he received intelligence that some of the men he 
had left at Vera Cruz had been killed by the Indians, who had thus 
convinced themselves that the new comers were really mortal, of which > 
they had entertained fears and doubts. The news enraged the Spanish 
captain, and afforded him a pretext for quarrel. Sending a message to 
Montezuma to the effect that he desired an immediate interview, he, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 75 

accompanied by five or six clioseii officers, went down to the emperor's 
palace, and there loudly upbraided him with breach of faith. He was 
resolved, he said, that the king should submit to be his prisoner, a 
hostage for the safety of the Spaniards, or that he would take prompt 
and deadly vengeance. The defiant tones and the angry gestures of 
the Spaniards intimidated the Mexican king ; and their language, which 
was interpreted to him by the woman Marina, convinced him that they 
were thoroughly in earnest, and that if he refused their terms, or, at 
the least, to hold parley with them, his own life was not worth five 
minutes' purchase. The Spanish heroes played with their swordhUts in 
a nienaciug way that was very suggestive of murder, saying—" Let us 
end this matter with the sword." 

Montezuma excused himself with regard to the Yera.Cruz massacre, 
promising satisfaction, and urging that it was improper and unparalleled 
to make prisoner of a king with whom no quarrel existed; he was 
willing that his son and two daughters should be placed in the charge 
of Cortes and should be regarded as hostages. Cortes flatly refused • 
either the king should be made prisoner or die. Seeing that none but 
this fatal alternative was accorded to him, Montezuma reluctantly 
consented, and was carried prisoner to the quarters which he had 
himself assigned for the accommodation of his Spanish visitors. There 
a guard was put upon him, but it was kept secret that he was a 
prisoner for fear of the people. 

To the quarters of Cortes, whither it was supposed the emperor had 
resorted in honour and good fellowship to the Spaniards, princes and 
lords came from vast distances to have audience ; they entered the 
presence of the sovereign barefooted, not coming straightforward, but 
sidling, with their eyes fixed on the ground ; all their rich garments 
were left in an outer chamber, and they came before the king as his 
poor subjects, bowing till their foreheads nearly touched the ground. 
These men, who regarded their king as almost divine, were totally 
unsuspicious of his real position in Cortes' quarters. That he should 
submit to bondage would have seemed to them a thing incredible, and 
that which must at all hazards be revenged ; but Montezuma was some- 
what of a coward, and knowing that any disclosure on his part, though 
it might end in sweeping away the Spaniards, would, nevertheless, be 
the occasion of his own immediate destruction, forbore to disclose 
anything. Four principal men who had been associated with the 
massacre at Yera Cruz were captured and burnt alive ! Montezuma 



76 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

asked leave once to go out a-hunting, and another time to the temple ; 
both requests were granted, but he was attended by a guard of 150 
Spaniards, and notice was given him that any attempt to escape, 
or any commotion amongst the people, would result in his own instant 
death. 

But Cacamazia, King of Tescuco, ascertained that his uncle Monte- 
zuma was a prisoner ; he conceived a plan for effecting his rescue, and 
at the same time crowning himself as emperor. This design he com- 
municated to the nephews of Montezuma, who by some means let their 
uncle know. He informed Cortes of the particulars and advised that 
they should all be arrested, which was accordingly done by his 
authority. The imprisonment of these great men emboldened Cortes 
to demand of Montezuma that he should swear fealty to the King of 
Spain, and he, after much hesitation and long conference with his 
principal caciques, resolved to do it. This he did in all due form, 
promising to pay a tribute, with the tears standing in his eyes, and the 
same was done by the petty kings subject to him. 

Cortes seeing so much gold must now needs know where they found 
it, and Montezuma sent some Indians with Spanish officers to three 
several places, who returned with a very large quantity of golddust, 
which the Indians had gathered in the sands of certain rivers. After 
this, Montezuma, by way of tribute to the King of Spain, made a 
present to him of all his father's treasure, which was shut up in the 
apartment of which mention has already been made. Many of the 
caciques also offered splendid jewels and golddust. All the gold being 
melted into plates by the king's officers and sealed, there was found to 
be the value of 600,000 pieces of eight, whereof one-fifth part being 
deducted for the king, and another fiith for Cortes, the rest was 
divided amongst the men. 

A foolish act of bravado, or what Cortes might have described as 
an excess of religious zeal, nearly led to a great outbreak amongst the 
people. Over one of the heathen temples a cross was raised, which so 
excited the indignation of the priests that they provoked the people to 
the very point of rebellion. Montezuma, who saw the danger, advised 
Cortes to begone, but the wily Spaniard declared it to be impossible; 
he had destroyed his ships, and must wait till he could build others. 
Montezuma commanded that the vessels might be prepared, and the 
work was carried on as speedily as might be. 

This being the posture of affairs in Mexico, and Velasquez under- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



77 



standing that Cortes liad sent deputies to the emperor with rich presents 
without taking notice of him, he fitted out nineteen sail, with 1,420 pieces 
of cannon, and sent them under the command of Pamphilo de Narvaez, 




with whom went an oydore or judge of San Domingo to mediate between 
Velasquez and Cortes, since it had been in his power to hinder him from 
jetting out. The fleet coming into the port of St. John de Neya, Monte- 



78 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

ZTima had notice of it, the Indians bringing an elaborate painting^of the; 
whole of the shipj^ing, which told the news as plainly as a telegram. 
Alarmed at the trouble which might ensue, he sent a rich present with 
friendly overtures to Narvaez, for he had learnt thoroughly by this time 
that nothing would satisfy these white men but yellow gold. 

In answer to his message and present, Montezuma received word 
from Narvaez that this Ferdinand Cortes was a rebel and a traitor — a 
runaway subject, destitute of all authority to act on behalf of the King 
of Spain — and that he, Narvaez, as the true and well-accredited servant 
of that distinguished monarch, had been commissioned to arrest the 
traitor, and to restore JMontezuma himself to immediate liberty and to 
the enjoyment of all his former possessions. All this Montezuma 
related to Cortes, who wrote to Narvaez entreating him not to raise the 
city against him, promising all fair terms, offering to him all the portion 
of land that had yet been subdued, and offering to retire to another 
province. Montezuma in the meanwhile was set at liberty, although he 
was strictly watched. 

Narvaez refused to listen to any compromise, and declared his inten- 
tion of marching upon the city of Mexico. Cortes saw plainly the 
dangerous position in which he was placed. He must either surrender 
or fight, and the former was not in his nature. Leaving his friend and 
comrade Pedro de Alvarado to re-secure the person of Montezuma, and 
obtaining the assistance of some 6,000 Indians, he marched out with 
his little fores to give battle to Narvaez, upon whom he " fell suddenly 
in the dead of night, completely routed his troops, and made of himself 
a prisoner." The next day all the soldiers of the adverse party took an 
oath to be obedient to him, and thus his forces were strengthened and 
also with the addition of nineteen ships. But in the midst of his 
triumph he received intelligence from Pedro de Alvarado of a revolt in 
the city, and without hesitation he marched at the head of all his forces 
upon Mexico, which he entered in triumph. To Montezuma, who came 
forth to the palace courtyard to meet him, he refused any word of 
greeting or of friendly feeling, accusing him of maliciously correspond- 
ing with Narvaez and fomenting rebellion. 

At this slight nothing could exceed the indignation of the Mexican 
king ; with heart and soul he incited his people — quietly, surreptitiously, 
but none the less eiiectuall^ — to rout out the Spaniards. The civil war ■ 
in the city of Mexico became serious ; the Indians, with pikes and slingS 
and darts, attacked all the Spanish quarters, and it was obvious to 



THE GOLDEN A^IERICAS. 79 

Cortes that something must be done immediately or that all would be 
lost. So he brought forth Montezuma and instructed him to tell the 
people to desist. 

The monarch did the bidding of his conqueror, and with bowed 
heads and in deep silence the Mexicans obeyed. Then Cortes directed 
the king to speak well of the Spaniards, and the king did so. This was 
too much; they saw the man they had once respected had no longer 
respect for himself ; they felt the deep indignity, and with a wild cry 
the battle recommenced. The first to fall was Montezuma. The 
people saw him in his death agony ; the superstition of their creed 
taught them that Heaven's vengeance would fall upon them, for they 
had slain their king, so they turned and fled. 

Hearing that a new king had been elected, Cortes acquainted him 

with Montezuma's death, and sent him his body that it might be 

honourably buried ; he then demanded of the Mexicans that they should 

put one of Montezuma's sons in possession of the empire, because he 

whom they had chosen was no lawful emperor, renewing his demands 

for peace and offering to depart from Mexico. Instead of peace they 

fell so furiously upon his quarters fhat many of his soldiers were killed, 

whereupon the next day he marched out with all his forces to be 

revenged, burnt a number of houses and killed an abundance of Indians, 

but with great loss on his side. Perceiving that it was impossible he 

I should be able to withstand so vast a number of enemies, provisions and 

powder also growing scarce, Cortes resolved on taking his departure 

I from Mexico. As an act of vengeance he put to death all Montezuma's 

I kindred and the caciques who had been taken prisoners, and then, on 

1 Thursday, the 10th of July, 1520, when the Indians least expected it, 

i lie began his march silently out of the city, carrying with him a wooden 

)l bridge to pass over those places where the banks were broken down. 

i As the troops of Cortes were passing over the banks at midnight, 

' though it was very dark, the Indians perceived them, and attacking 

I them both by land and from the canals in a great number of boats, 

■ killed at least twenty Spaniards, part with the sword and part drowned 

in the water, besides several prisoners, the canal being choked with 

dead men and horses. 

It was in this engagement that Pedro de Alvarado took a wonderful 
leap to escape falling into the hands of the enemy. The place was for 
many years known as " Alvarado's Leap." 

Having passed the bridge, Cortes came in alh haste to Tabasco, still 



80 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



pursued by the Indians, who harassed his rear and fell upon the sick 
and wounded. He found the people of Tabasco all in arms against him, 
and was forced to retreat by the by-roads. In a deserted temple he 




found a temporary refuge for his exhausted men, and on the site of 
this temple a Christian church was afterwards erected and dedicated to 
Our Lady de Remedias. The flight from Mexico, the long pursuit, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



81 




PLAN OF THE CITY OF MEXICO. 



the terrible loss sustained, caused the occasion to be called the Dismal 
Night, " because," says an old writer, " of the great slaughter, especially 
of those who forwarded their own deaths bj not forsaking their gold." 

G 



82 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

The Spaniards continued their retreat, still facing the Mexicans at 
intervals, and standing as it were at bay. On the 14th of July there 
was a very remarkable battle, and the slaughter was great on both sides, 
after which, upon a muster, there were found but 440 Spaniards. This 
small body continued to retreat to Tlascala. There they were rein- 
forced by 120 men and seventeen horse, Francis de Garay having sent 
three ships to take possession of the river of Panuco ; the soldiers 
meeting with more opposition than they expected, went all over to 
Cortes. 

Cortes now thought good to send away some officers and soldiers, 
part into Spain and part to Hispaniola and Cuba, to make known what 
he had done up to that time, and some to Jamaica to buy horses. There 
was also another arrival of soldiers from Spain, so that on the 28th of 
December he marched with tolerable confidence on Tescuco. There het 
was honourably received by seven of the principal lords of the country 
and the petty king, who gave him a gold banner. Some days after, 
finding himself strong, having received other recruits, brought by the 
king's treasurer in one ship, and thirteen brigantines he had caused to> 
be built being ready, he resolved on subduing the country and ascer- 
taining the best way of laying siege to Mexico. 

Accordingly he set out on the 5th of April, 1521, with 365 Spaniards 
and above 20,000 armed Indians, besides those who followed the army" 
" like crows, only to glut themselves with man's flesh." After subdning 
Tespullan, passing forward through Cornavaca, he overthrew the 
Mexicans in a sanguinary battle, but they bringing fresh forces into the 
field attacked the Spaniards several times, and Cortes retired to Tescuco. 
There, hearing that certain friends of Narvaez were conspiring against 
him, he had every one of them hanged. 

Upon a muster at Whitsuntide, 1521, Cortes found he had eighty- 
four horse, 650 foot, armed with sword and lance, and 194 with fire- 
arms. He took 150 of these and distributed them amongst the brigan- 
tines, each of which carried twelve oars ; the rest of his men he divided 
into nine companies, giving one man the chief command over three of 
them. He ordered 8,000 Tlascalans to besiege Iztapalapa, Cuibacan, 
and Tacuba, and broke down the aqueduct of Chapultepeth, that 
carried water to Mexico. He went in his brigantines about the lake, 
and, sinking several canoes of Indians, made his way over to Iztapalapa 
to relieve Gonzalo de Sandoval, who was beset by the Mexicans. 
Having brought him off, he sent him to attack the bank of Tepeaquilla, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 83 

afterwards called the Causeway of Our Lady of Guadaloupe, whilst, 
dividing his forces into three parts, and backed by the brigantines, he 
went to assault the Mexicans. The Spaniards could do but little, 
because at night they lost all the ground they had gained upon the 
causeways; for all the houses being encompassed with water, with 
trenches cut about them, the Indians opened them at night that the 
men and horses might fall in. 

On the 2ith of June the Spaniards were attacked on all sides, and 
although they kept their ground with comparatively small loss, Cortes 
saw that these repeated engagements were acting prejudicially upon 
his forces, and resolved on a sudden assault upon Mexico. The three 
little squadrons advanced three several ways, but all to no purpose, for 
Cortes pushing forward upon one of the causeways, whither he had 
been beguiled by the Indians, preferring to fall back, was borne down 
in the water and mud, wounded in the leg, and lost sixty of his men as 
prisoners. The other squadrons fared no better. The Spanish prisoners 
were all sacrificed by the Indians to the god Huychilobos, the bodies 
being afterwards cast out to be devoured by wild beasts, with the 
exception of the legs and arms, which the Mexicans reserved to be 
eaten with chilmole or hot sauce. 

After these severe losses the Spaniards were almost entirely forsaken 
by their Indian allies, and made but small progress against the Mexi- 
cans. Cortes in vain made application to the king for peace, who 
daily grew more obstinate. He therefore again sought alliance with 
the Indians, and with their help caused the city to be simultaneously 
assaulted at three different points. The attack was successful : Cortes 
penetrated to the temple of Tlarelullo, on which he set up his colours. 
The king retired to the port, where the dykes were opened and the 
houses surrounded by water, but the Spaniards kept up a deadly and 
constant fire. At last the unhappy prince fell into the hands of Cortes, 
and when brought before him made a noble defence which should have 
brought the Castilian blood into his face. The prisoner acknowledged 
his crime : it was that of defending his own land and his father's lands 
against the depredations of strangers. He had failed, and aU he asked 
was that he who had taken all would with his own sword take his 
prisoner's life. Cortes spared him for some time, only to make the 
bitterness of death more terrible in the end. 

After cleansing the streets and removing the dead bodies, the next 
thing was the torturing of the hero of Tescuco to oblige him to dis- 



84 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

cover where the gold was hid, all they had found being worth but 
886,000 crowns. In this work there was no delay on the part of the 
Spaniards. They had come to seek for gold, and gold they were 
resolved on having. When the Spaniards were resolved they did not 
hesitate as to the means, whether they had to deal with heathen Indians 
or Christian Netherlanders. At the sack of Antwerp, the famous — 
rather infamous — Spanish Fury, the acts of diabolical cruelty com- 
mitted make the heart turn sick. There seems something in the 
Spanish nature more bitterly and fiercely cruel than is to be found in 
any other so-called civilised people. To Spain the world was indebted 
for the Inquisition, the institution of the holy office which tortured and 
killed so many thousands of hapless beings on charges of heresy. The 
rack, the wheel, the fire, the sword, the multiform varieties of exquisite 
torment, were never in the whole world's history so freely shown as in 
that of Spain. Unhappy Mexicans to fall into the hands of such 
apostolic missionaries ! Then the city was rebuilt that it might be again 
inhabited, and several commanders were sent to subdue other provinces. 
Cortes had in a great measure completed his bloody work, and there 
was a glut of gold — gold as common as stones in the street. All sorts 
of stories about the inexhaustible wealth of Mexico went forth — some 
of them grossly exaggerated, some of them below the truth, but all 
representing the conquered city as the golden capital of a golden land. 

Peter Bercius, John and Theodore de Bry, quoted by De OvaUa, 
spoke in the strongest terms of the wealth of the people. There is the 
report of a garden which belonged to one of their kings, in which all 
the forms of vegetation, herb, bush, shrub, tree, fruit, flowers, sprang 
from the earth, or were so represented as to deceive the eye in shapes 
of massy gold. In the royal houses also these were made entirely of 
precious stones ; so much had they of gold that not only was it the 
common custom to eat off gold plate, but they made their tables of 
gold, their chairs of gold, their sofas of gold ; they dwelt in literally 
golden houses. One of the historians teUs us that a great deal of this 
fell to the Spaniards on the conquest of America, but that " the best 
part was hid and concealed by the Indians, which to this day they 
keep undiscovered, being in that way intractable and extremely close." 

Among other precious pieces of gold-work, says Ovalla, authors 
make particular mention, and admire with reason the chain which the 
King Guaynacapa, the eleventh King of Peru, caused to be made at 
the birth of his son Guascar, who was to inherit the crown, for each 



86 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

link of it was as big as tlie wrist of a man, and as long as twi<je tlie 
length of tlie Grande Place of Cusco, wHch in all might be about 
seven hundred feet long. Two hundred Indians could but just lift it 
up from the ground. The boy so honoured was called by a name sig- 
nificant of the golden castle. "The chief motive the king had," says 
our author, " to order this. chain to be made was that the dances which 
were to be made at his birth might be more solemn, and worthy of his 
royal person ; because the manner of dancing with the Indians is to 
take one another by the hand and make a circle, so moving two steps 
forward and one backward, draw closer and closer to the king to make 
their obeisances, and the king caused this chain to be made for them 
to take hold of instead of taking hold of one another." 

The ancient histories of Mexico make particular mention of a flood, 
probably a tradition of the Noahic deluge ; they state that in that 
awful calamity all men and beasts perished, except one man and one 
woman, who were saved in a boat. The man was called Coxcox and 
the woman Chichquerzue. This couple coming to the foot of a mountain, 
called Culhuacan, went ashore, and there had many children, who were 
all born dumb. When they were multiplied to a great number, one 
day a pigeon came, and from the top of a tree gave them their speech ; 
but not one of them understood the other's language, and therefore 
they dispersed, each one going his several way to take possession of a 
new country. About fifteen heads of families joined together reached 
the place now called Mexico : this was in the year answering to the 
year of the world 1325. This was said to be the beginning of the 
Mexican empire, but little beyond the wildest tradition is known 
respecting its early progress. 

Of the known Emperors of Mexico we have, according to Mexican 
tradition — Acamapictli, the first king elected when they established 
themselves on the lake. Hutzizhuitl, son of the former, who obtained 
the crown not by hereditary descent, but through the elections of 
elders and chiefs of the republic. Chimalpopoca, brother of the 
former, who suffered the greatest indignities from his brother-in-law, 
Maxtla, Emperor of Azcapuzalco. Izcohuatl, son of the former KJing 
Acamapictli, elected on account of the valour and credit he had 
manifested while captain-general of the armies. Moctecuhzma (or 
Montezuma) th First ; he was elected on account of his extreme 
bravery and merit. His name signifies angry man ; he was Ilhmcamina, 
or the man who shoots arrows to heaven. Axayacatl was his successor, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 87 

followed by Tizoc, who paid the penalty of his effeminate habits with 
his life. He was succeeded by his .brother Ahuizotl, who in turn 
yielded the throne to the famous Montezuma, against whom the 
Spanish General Cortes was now to wage battle. At his death, the 
war with the Spaniards being as yet unfinished, Cuitlahuatlan was 
proclaimed king, and soon afterwards was made prisoner, and finally 
executed by the command of his captor. 

After the conquest by Cortes, Mexico was made a province, or, as 
it was called, a corregimieyito of New Spain. It is described by the old 
writers as being 313 miles long in a direct line from S.W. to N.E., 
from the port of San Diego de Acapulco in the South Sea to the bay or 
lake of Panuco, near the north. It is bounded, they tell us with 
marvellous circumspection, by the province and bishopric of Mechoacan 
on one side, and on the other by the province of Tlaxcala, a line being 
drawn through these fronr E.S.E. to W. Its width is thirty-seven 
leagues, forming an irregular figure, for being narrow in the strip on 
the South Sea coast, it continues widening as it reaches north. 

The following description of the city of Mexico will not be read 
without interest : — The plan of the city is square ; its diameter within 
the gates is 4,340 Spanish yards from north to south, and 3,640 from 
€ast to west ; the ground is level, the streets straight, and drawn at 
right-angles, being a little more than fourteen yards wide. The town 
is surrounded with a wall of uncemented stones, and the channels 
which lead from the lake disperse their waters in various small canals, 
which flow through some beautiful streets, and are covered with craft 
and canoes, which every day appear loaded with supplies of fruit, 
flowers, &c., and make their way up as far as the walls of the palace 
of the viceroy, which is situated in the Plaza Mayor. The buildings 
are magnificent, and some of them of the most beautiful architecture. 
There are different markets, where may be found a regular supply of 
everything that the people can require. The city is approached by 
seven stone causeways, which are — Guadalupe to the north, Tacusa 
to the west, San Antonio to the south, built by the Indians, and the 
others by the Spaniards being La Piedad, Ascapuscalo, Tacuba, 
Santiago, and Chapultepeth. The whole of the city is paved, the 
principal streets with freestone, some of them being provided with 
proper drainage. 

In the city of Mexico there are several fine fountains, the waters 
of which come from various parts ; the best and sweetest are said to 



88 THE GOLDEN AlVIERICAS. 

be tliose of Santa Fe, a settlement some two leagues distant from the 
city, the water being conveyed upon an aqueduct of more than nine 
hundred arches, each of eight yards wide. Another aqueduct, similar 
to this, comes from the pool of Chapultepec, about a league distant, 
and formerly there was one towards the south, through ChurrobuscOy 
of which nothing but the yestige remains. 

There were and still are several fine promenades in the city, and 
various places of amusement. 

Independently of the title of the most noble, most loyal, renowned, 
and imperial city, there was conceded to Mexico by Charles V., in 1523, 
the title of Cabeza y Corte del Reyno (head and court of the kingdom), 
who also granted to it the liberty of using the arms which it had in the 
early times, the which were a shield with a castle of three towers, an 
eagle upon a tuna-tree with a snake in its beak ; at the foot of the tree 
ran some waters ; on the side without the ^shield were two lions, and 
upon the top a crown ; also, by a schedule of the 4th of July of the 
same year, there were further conceded for the arms of the corporation 
and the city a blue shield of the colour of water, to represent the lake ; 
a gold castle in the middle, and three bridges of stone leading to it, the 
two side bridges not quite touching the castle, and upon each a lion, 
standing, and having his feet upon the bridge and his talons on the 
castle, and within the orle were ten golden tuna-leaves, and above all 
the imperial crown. 

In 1530 the same emperor granted to the city the title and privileges 
of Burgos Cabeza de Castillio, and in 1518 the titles of most neble, 
most loyal, and most illustrious. It also enjoyed the privilege of being 
called the Grande de Espana, and the Senor Don Carlos III. granted 
in 1773 to the persons belonging to the chapter the use of gold em- 
broidery on their official dresses. 

Of the gold captured in the sack of Mexico, two shiploads were 
sent to Castile, being all that remained of Montezuma's private 
treasure. The present or tribute, or whatever it might be called, was 
accompanied by a petition that he might be appointed to the govern- 
ment of New Spain. Unfortunately both for Cortes and the king, 
neither the present nor the petition reached their proper destination. 
The two vessels were seized by a French privateer, and the golden 
stream was diverted into a French channel. 

" By St. Denis," quoth the King of France, " our German emperor 
and cousin of Portugal seem to be for dividing the New World between 



90 THE GOLDEN AIVIERICAS. 

them. It would pleasure me to see Adam's last will, that I might be 
certain they are his rightful legatees." 

Returning to Spain, Cortes was at first honourably received, treated 
with distinction, and was furthermore entrusted with command ; but 
he was surrounded by detractors wha filled the king's ears with base 
insinuations, and at last he fell into neglect. Spain was careless of 
her benefactors when they had accomplished her work. Columbus had 
died of a broken heart, and Nunez as a felon. AMiat could Cortes 
expect ? There is a story told that one day he forced his way through 
the crowd that had collected about the royal carriage, mounted the 
step, and looked in. Astonished at so gross a breach of etiquette, the 
monarch demanded to know who he was. 

'' I am a man," replied the Mexican conqueror, " who has given you 
more provinces than your ancestors left you cities !" 

After this Cortes secluded himself from society, and died in 1554 a 
disappointed man. 

That Hernan Cortes was a man of considerable ability, great 
daring, and physical courage, there can be no question ; but he lacked 
a proper regard for justice and humanity. He accomplished much for 
Spain, and Spanish ingratitude was his reward ; but towards the native 
races with whom he had to deal there was no sparing, no mercy, no 
apparent sense of right. 

" TVTiile Cook is loved for savage lives he saved, 
See Cortes odious for a world enslaved ; 
Where wast thoti, then, sweet Charity, wliere then, 
Thou tutelary friend of helpless men ? 
"Wast thou in monkish cells and nunneries found, 
Or buildiag hospitals on English ground ? 
No ; Mammon makes tlie world Ms legatee, 
Through fear, not love ; and Heaven abhors the fee. 
Wherever found (and all men need tliy care). 
Nor age nor infancy could find tliee there. 
The hand that slew till it could slay no more. 
Was glued to the sword-hilt with Indian gore. 
Their prince, as justly seated on his throne 
As vara imperial Philip on his own. 
Tricked out of all his royalty by art, 
That stripped him bare, and broke his honest heart, 
Died by the sentence of a shaven priest, 
For scorning what they taught him to detest. 
How dark the veU that intercepts the blaze 
Of Heaven's mysterious purposes and ways ! 



THE GOLDEN" AMEKICAS. 



91 



' God stood not, thougli He seemed to stand, aloof, 
And at tlds hour tlie conqueror feels tlie proof ; 
The wreath he -won drew down an instant curse, 
The fretting plague is in the public purse ; 
The cankered spoil corrodes the pining state. 
Starved by that indolence their minds create. 
Oh ! could their ancient Incas rise again. 
How would they take up Israel's taunting strain ! 
Art thou, too, fallen, Iberia ? Do we see 
The robber and the murderer weak as w& ? 
Thou that hast wasted earth, and darei despise 
Alike the wrath and mercy of the sMes, 
Thy pomp is in the grave, thy glory laid 
Low in the pits thine avarice has made. 
We come with joy from our eternal rest 
To see the oppressor in his tura oppressed. 
Art thou the god the thunder of whose hand 
Rolled over all our desolated land. 
Shook principalities and kingdoms down, 
And made the mountains tremble at his frown ? 
The sword shall light upon thy boasted powers, 
And waste them, as thy sword has wasted oxrs. 
'Tis thus Omnipotence His law fulfils. 
And vengeance executes what justice wills." — Cowper. 




m 



^K^^^^^^^^^^uj^- 



92 THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Francisco Pizarro and the Discovery of Peru — Advances into the Country — The 
Incas— March from St. Miguel to Caxamarca — Description of the City — 
Meeting with the Inca — Perfidy of Pizarro — Cruel Massacre of the Peru- 
vians — Imprisonment of the Inca — Enormous Kansom— Pizarro' s Refusal to 
fulfil his Promise — Fate of the Inca — Berralcazar attacks Quito — Quarrel 
with Alvarado — Arrangement for the Government of Peru — Almagro marches 
on Chili — The Siege of Cuzco — Negotiations hetween Pizarro and Almagro 
■ — Civil War— Yasca de Castro sent out from Spain — Death of Almagro — 
Ambitious Schemes of the Governor — Gonzalo Pizarro— Orellano — Treachery 
—The End of Pizarro. 

/^ OLD was the Alpha and the Omega of the Spanish and Portuguese 
^-^ desire. With whatever pretext they set forth, the enriching 
of themselves with the treasures of the New World was its real object. 
Since Nunez de Balboa had received hints of the vast wealth to be found 
beyond the South Sea, gold-seeking had been- the ardent passion of 
every adventurer, and to obtain it they were ready to commit any act 
of atrocity or to endure any amount of toil and privation. East of 
Panama, it was said, were the gold regions ; but much of disappointment 
had attended many of the expeditions, and the white men were begin- 
ning to doubt the truth of the Indians, and to imagine that the natives 
had exaggerated the treasures of their country. Not so thought Fran- 
cisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro, and Hernando Luque. 

Pizarro was of mean birth, and in his childhood had been employed 
by a swineherd. Education of a literary nature he had none ; he could 
neither write nor read, and it is said that his bitter hatred against the 
unhappy Inca Atahualpa was intensified by the monarch discovering 
his ignorance. Early in life Pizarro had become associated with the 
camp followers, being engaged in any coarse, rough work that might be 
assigned him ; but his soldierlike qualities, endurance, courage, deter- 
mination, brought him into notice, and the expeditions to the New World 
oifered unusual facilities for making the fortune of an aspiring man. 
Diego de Almagro, like Pizarro, was of obscure birth, and had only 
through much hardship obtained military distinction. As to Hernando 
Luque, he was a priest who had amassed a considerable amount of 
wealth. These three men formed a confederacy which was authorised 
by Governor Pedrarias at Panama. 

The first attempts of these men in seeking the gold regions were 



94 THE GOLDEN AJMERICAS. 

attended with but small success. They heard much but found little. 
Just as they had resolved on a renewed effort of a bolder and more 
extensive character than had yet been attempted, a new governor was 
appointed at Panama, and he looked with suspicion on their movements. 
He was inclined to regard Francisco Pizarro as a dangerous man for a 
young colony 5 he was therefore ordered home, an order which he flatly 
refused to obey. His friends were deterred by his daring obstinacy, all 
but thirteen of his soldiers forsook him, and the fortunes of Pizarro were 
seriously overcast. At last, however, he obtained a ship and discovered 
the coast of Peru, where he found the natives far more civilised than he 
had seen in any other part of the New World, and that gold and silver 
were to be obtained in profusion. Thus encouraged, he ventured to 
return to Panama to seek assistance and obtain if possible the counte- 
nance of the governor ; but the governor was inflexible. Nothing 
daunted, Pizarro made a voyage to Spain, and there so represented the 
matter to the king that he obtained authority from the sovereign to take 
possession of Peru in the royal name. Careful that this authority 
should be conferred upon himself, Pizarro neglected his brother adven- 
turers ; and although he renewed the confederacy, required them to 
recognise in him their chief. 

On returning to Panama, Pizarro and his companions set sail for Peru. 
Their whole force amounted to three vessels and a hundred and eighty 
.soldiers. Dropping down, like birds of prey, on many small and 
undefended places on the Peruvian coast, they speedily enriched them- 
selves with spoil, despatching some of it to Panama, and receiving 
from thence a reinforcement of thirty men. Advancing into the 
country, Pizarro ascertained that the people were governed by Incas, 
who were not only regarded as earthly monarchs but as heavenly kings. 
They were accounted divine, and their origin was traced to the sun. 
Pizarro had established his quarters at a place called St. IVliguel, but he 
resolved on marching upon the capital, which bore the name of Caxa- 
marca. 

The march led the adventurers through a totally unknown country 
across rivers and lakes, through vast forests, and over stupendous 
mountains ; the country was thickly inhabited by a people who, with- 
out much difliculty, might have crushed the mere handful of men that 
had ventured amongst them. It was reported that the royal forces at 
Caxarharca amounted to no less than fifty thousand trained warriors, 
while the Spanish force consisted of less than two hundred. The 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 95 

followers of Pizarro hesitated ; they saw the tremendous risk, and were 
for turning back upon St. Miguel, but Pizarro silenced them. Assem- 
bling his troops, he declared that a crisis had now arrived which it 
required all their courage to meet. No man should think of going 
forward on this expedition who could not do so with his whole heart ; 
let those who had misgivings as to the success of the adventure turn 
back. No shame should be cast on them, and their rights to spoil 
should be fully recognised. It was now possible for them to return ; 
in a few days it would be impossible. St. Miguel was now within 
reach ; it was but poorly garrisoned ; let those who would without fear 
go back ; as for himself, he should go forward. Nine persons only 
availed themselves of this permission — four belonged to the infantry 
and five to the cavalry. The rest applauded their leader's resolution, 
and determined to follow him. 

"Lead on !" they shouted ; " lead on wherever you think best ; we 
will follow with good will, and you shall see that we can do our duty.'^ 

Before then^ were the mighty Andes, a formidable barrier between 
them and the spoil they sought, but the ascent was made without much 
difficulty, and the descent was easy and rapid. There, shining hke a 
golden city in the dark skirts of the Sierra, was Caxamarca. 

Beautiful was the city of Caxamarca. Backed by a wood of dark 
old trees, and seen from distant mountain-tops, it sparkled in the sun- 
beams like a monarch's signet-ring — a city of gold ! On the slope of 
the surrounding hills stretched the white tents of the people, as thick, 
it is said, as snowflakes. The Inca sent a message to Pizarro, inquiring 
his intentions, and demanded whether he came as an enemy or a 
friend. To this the wily Spaniard answered that he came with the 
most kindly feelings, that he was sent with loving words from a 
powerful sovereign, and had news to teU which would rejoice the heart 
of the Inca. Atahualpa — for such was the Inca's name — believed it all. 
So a meeting was appointed and fixed. 

While the Inca prepared his retinue to appear with becoming^ 
magnificence, Pizarro thought of a dark and shamefiil scheme. He 
knew well the advantage of having the Inca in his power, so he 
resolved to act a traitor's part, and with a smiling face to seize on the 
unsuspecting monarch. 

Saturday, the 16th November, 1532, was a bright and beautiful 
day. The clouds passed away, and the sun rose brightly on the city. 
The shrill trumpets called the Spaniards to arms. Every arrangement 



£)6 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



was made to cany out the scheme of Pizarro. The soldiers were con- 
cealed, but so as they could rush forth at a moment's notice. Pizarro 
•examined their arms himself, and saw they were in good order. Every 
breastplate was garnished with bells. A great feast was prepared ; 
but before this was served mass was performed with great solemnity, 




FRANCISCO PIZARKO. 



and the soldiers sang the saintly song, " Rise, O Lord, and judge Thine 
own cause !" One might have thought them a company of martyrs, 
instead of a lawless band of men whose god was gold. 

It was late in the day before the Peruvians advanced towards them, 
and then the Indian procession was seen approaching. In front there 
came a large body of attendants, sweeping every particle of dust from 
the road. Then came the Inca, sitting on a throne, and borne on the 



„ , I'lffriflffij ,iiii'ii 



]||p*'l(\"' 
<*' till 

Mil 1 lilli 



I'll 



IW '' 






''4?''' 




m 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 97 

shoulders of his principal nobles. His throne was covered with plates 
of gold and silver, and enriched with precious stones, while the royal 
robe was studded with jewels that blazed like the sun. Thirty thou- 
sand soldiers and followers spread themselves over the jEields and 
around the Inca, and as far as the eye could reach over the broad 
meadows were seen the stately forms of the Peruvians. The utmost 
grandeur was exhibited by them all, and gold seemed to them as the 
sand of the seashore, and jewels as leaves in the forests. 

The Spaniards little expected that the Inca would come so well 
attended, and were ready to give up their scheme ; but suddenly 
Atahualpa sent a message, saying he should stop that night at a 
neighbouring city. Pizarro gladly received the news. Once again he 
addressed his men, once more circulated his orders, and as the evening- 
shadows stole over the earth every Spanish soldier had taken his 
allotted place. And the Inca entered the city. His slaves sang songs 
of triumph, " which in our ears," says one of the conquerors, " sounded 
like the songs of hell!" Then came his attendants. Some wore a 
showy stuff, chequered white and red, like the squares of a chessboard. 
Others were clad in pure white, bearing banners of silver and 
copper, and the guards were clothed in blue liveries and wore jewelled 
earrings. 

As the leading lines of the procession entered the Grand Square — 
larger, says an old chronicler, than any square in Spain — they opened 
to the right and the left for the royal retinue to pass. But not a 
Spaniard was to be seen. Atahualpa was clothed like a king ; a crown 
rested on his head ; his hair was decorated with golden ornaments ; a 
collar of emerald was around his neck. His appearance, indeed, was 
magnificent and imposing, and the Spaniards, although well accus- 
tomed to solemnity and grandeur, could not look upon this wondrous 
barbarian without some sense of awe. 

Casting his glance around the square, he inquired for the strangers 
as he could not perceive them, and his inquiry being made known, 
Pizarro's chaplain stepped forward, holding in one hand a book, and 
in the other a crucifix. In a lengthened speech, directed to the Inca, 
and which had necessarily to be translated before that potentate 
could arrive at the least idea of its meaning, he set forth what he 
called the doctrines of the true faith. He endeavoured to explain the 
mysteries of the Trinity, the creation, the fall, and the vicarious 
sufferings of the Redeemer. From this he proceeded to state that a 

H 



98 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

commission was given to the apostles of Christ to proclaim the Gospel 
everywhere ; that St. Peter was the prince of the apostles, that he held 
the keys of heaven, that he ruled the Church on earth through his 
successors, the Sovereign Pontiffs of Rome ; that these Popes were 
answerable to no human being for their actions, and might do as they 
would with all the nations of the earth, but that they were always 
remarkable for clemency, mercy, kindness, and grace ; that in order 
to benefit the Peruvians and give them an opportunity of acquiring a 
knowledge of Christianity, and a consequent hope' of heaven, one of 
the Popes had given Peru to the King of Castile, to whom henceforth 
the Inca would be required to do homage as to his sovereign lord. 

The bright eyes of the Inca flashed, and his dark brow grew darker, 
as he demanded — 

" By what right do you tell me these things ?" 

" It is written in this book," was the priest's answer, as he exhibited 
his breviary. 

The Inca took it, glanced hurriedly through its pages, which were 
totally unintelligible to him, then cast it from him in contempt. 

"This book," said he, "tells me nothing — it is silent — I know not 
of your deities, but my God dwells in the heavens." 

The fact of the Inca casting away the sacred book was the occasion 
of an immediate attack by the Spaniards on the Peruvians. " The 
Word of God is mocked at," they cried — " to arms ! to arms ! Avenge 
this insult on the impious dogs !" 

The signal for assault was given ; the guns were discharged ; the 
military music sounded ; the cavalry charged fiercely ; the infantry 
rushed on, sword in hand ; Pizarro himself led a few chosen followers 
directly towards the Inca, and notwithstanding the noble resistance 
offered by his attendants, dragged him to the ground, and made him 
prisoner. The Peruvians, totally unprepared for a struggle, were 
unable to defend themselves, and fell easy victims to the perfidious and 
brutal Spaniards. The Grand Square was slippery with blood ; four 
thousand at least of the unfortunate people were butchered, fire and 
sack finished the work for the night, and Pizarro found himself, by his 
, coup d^etat, master of the situation. 

The unhappy Inca, accustomed all his life to the slavish reverence 
of his subjects, who held him to be more of a god than a man, was 
shut up in an apartment twenty-two feet in length and sixteen in 
breadth, and there treated with but scant courtesy by his conquerors. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. . 99 

Now, if he liad ever- doubted what was the main design of the strangers' 
arrival, he was plainly informed of their object. They had come for 
gold ; they sought for the hidden treasure ; they were resolved on 
obtaining gold, if they flooded the land with blood in the search 
for it ! The old cacique who had told his people that gold was the 
Christian god was not far wrong. 

"A curse on him who foxmd the ore ! 
A curse on him. who digged the store ! 
A curse on him who did refine it ! 
A curse on him who first did coin it !" 

Atahualpa offered an enormous ransom. He promised to fill the 
room in which he was confined with golden vessels as high as he could 
reach. A line was drawn upon the wall to mark the stipulated height, 
and in due time the enormous mass of treasure was accumulated. 
After setting aside one-fifth as the king's royalty, and giving a 
hundred thousand pesos* to the newly-arrived soldiery, there remained 
for Pizarro and his brother adventurers no less a sum than 1,528,500 
pesos!. . 

The.-ransom being paid, Atahualpa demanded that his captor should 
fulfil his part of the contract, and give him his liberty. This simply 
just demand Pizarro flatly refused. It had never been his intention 
that the Inca should escape. Almagro, the close companion of Pizarro, 
was very anxious that the captive should be assassinated, but Pizarro 
was wily, and sought to give a colour of justice to the act, to make the 
murder judicial, and not a common murder. He was accused of various 
crimes against Spain, against the Christian religion, against the rule of 
Pizarro ; he was tried with all the formalities of a Castilian court of 
law, and was pronounced guilty. He was condemned to be burnt alive, 
and ordered for instant execution. The monk who attended him to the 
stake affected the liveliest interest in his spiritual welfare, and by 
threats and promises at last induced the Inca to receive the rite of 
Christian baptism. The miserable king doubtless imagined that his 
life would be spared if he consented, but the only mitigation of his 
punishment was that he was strangled at the stake instead of being 
burnt alive ! 

There were few or none of the royal seed left. The late Inca had 
himself murdered those whom he suspected, and Spanish chivalry had 

* A peso was at that time worth about twenty shillings of our money. 



100 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

either slain or driven away the rest ; so the people, without any recog- 
nised ruler, offered but a feeble show of resistance to the advance of 
the Spaniards and Pizarro ; his troops, trebled in number, marched 
into Cuzco, and took possession of its enormous treasure. 

Although an outward friendship existed between Pizarro and 
Almagro, both of whom received the honour they coveted from King 
Ferdinand, Almagro had not altogether forgiven or forgotten Pizarro's 
former cunning in securing emoluments for himself instead of equally 
sharing with his fellow- adventurer. Pizarro could well understand 
this, and hated Almagro — it is natural for the wrong-doer to hate the 
wronged. Pizarro was a man of small jealousies also, as well as of 
unbounded avarice and cruelty, and he was jealous of Almagro's popu- 
larity. There is a story told of Atahualpa, during his imprisonment, 
astounded by the use of letters, copying the word Dios on his thumb- 
nail, and asking the sentry what it meant. Not satisfied, he tried 
another soldier, and received the same reply. At length he asked 
Pizarro, who could give no answer, for he had never learned to read ! 
We are told that this humiliation, unintentional as it was on the part 
of the Inca, the Spaniard never forgave. Against Almagro he felt a 
bitter animosity, just in the same way ; not that the man had done him 
any wrong, but that Ferdinand had at last made him a sharer in his 
honour. 

Setting himself about the erection of a great city at Lima, Pizarro 
occupied his time between the carrying on of this work and the regu- 
lation of his government. Almagro, in the meanwhile, began his march 
towards Chili with a body of 570 men. The route he adopted was both 
difficult and dangerous, and his troops suffered severely. On arriving 
in the plains they were surprised by a far more warlike people than 
they had yet encountered. Before, however, the result of the contest 
could be known, Almagro was recalled to Peru. 

The Peruvians had revolted against the Spaniards. They had 
invested Pizarro at Lima, and his brothers Juan Gonzales and Ferdi- 
dand at Cuzco. More than half of the last-named city was in their 
possession when Almagro arrived. But he came not only to defeat the 
Peruvians, but to claim authority in Cuzco. From the court of Spain 
he had received a royal patent constituting him the governor of a 
certain district which included Cuzco, at the news whereof the Pizarros 
refused to yield. Almagro was not a man to be so thwarted. He won 
over their adherents, seized the city, defeated the Peruvians, asserted 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



101 



himself, and let the whole Pizarro family understand that he meant to 
act on his royal patent. 

"Pizarro, with his usual cunning, knowing that the delay of active 




measures was the best thing that could be done until he had obtained 
additional forces, had recourse to arts which he had formerly practised 
but too successfully— amusing Almagr J with prospects of settHng their 



102 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

dijfferences amicably, but constantly sMfting his ground — ^and thus 
passed away seven montha. By utter disregard to truth and honour 
he obtained the release of his two brothers, the third having been 
killed by the Peruvians ; and they, in conjunction with Alvarado, 
persuaded sixty of the men who formerly guarded them to accompany 
them in their flight. Pizarro now threw off the mask of reconciliation, 
and marched against Almagro, at the head of about seven hundred men. 
In the plains of Cuzco a very obstinate battle was fought between the 
two parties, and, notwithstanding the greater number of veterans and 
cavalry were on the side of Almagro, Pizarro, by the superior number 
of his forces, and by a skilfully-directed fire from a body of musketeers, 
obtained a decisive victory, which was used in the most cruel and 
barbarous manner. Almagro endeavoured to save himself by flight, 
but was taken prisoner, and guarded with the strictest vigilance. He 
was kept for several months in suspense, although his doom was fixed, 
until his soldiers had left Cuzco, when he was impeached of treason, 
formally tried, and condemned to die. He was strangled in prison, and 
afterwards publicly beheaded. He left one son, whom he named as 
successor to his government, pursuant to a povrer which the emperor 
had granted him." 

Pizarro was fully aware of the critical position in which he had 
placed himself. One of Almagro's friends was already on his way to 
Spain, where he would no doubt represent in forcible terms the out- 
rageous conduct of his enemy. Pizarro therefore himself despatched a 
messenger with a counter-statement, and the King of Spain, not knowing 
how to act, but wishing very heartily that the discoverer of Peru was 
dead, commissioned Yasca de Castro to proceed to Peru and institute 
an inquiry, but on no account to anger or offend Governor Pizarro 
should he unfortunately be still alive. If he were dead, Yasca de Castro 
carried proper credentials by which he was himself constituted to the 
chief office in the state. 

Pizarro, in the meanwhile, being rid of his enemy Almagro, had 
proceeded to act as though the vast empire of Peru were all his own. 
He had divided the land amongst his own friends and followers, 
selecting the best and richest for himself, giving the rest to his adhe- 
rents, and denying a single acre to any one who had followed Almagro, 
although they had helped to effect the discovery of the country, and to 
subjugate its people. 

Eapid as had been the progress of the Spaniards in South America 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 103 

since Pizarro landed in Peru, their avidity of dominion was not yet 
satisfied. The officers to whom Ferdinand Pizarro gave the command 
of different detachments penetrated into several new provinces ; and 
though some of them were exposed to great hardships in the cold and 
barren regions of the Andes, and others suffered distress not inferior 
amidst the woods and marshes of the plains, they made discoveries and 
conquests which not only extended their knowledge of the country, but 
added considerably to the territories of Spain in the jSTew World. Pedro 
de Yaldivia took up Almagro's scheme of invading Chili, and, notwith- 
standing the fortitude of the natives in defending their possessions, 
made such progress in the conquest of the country that he founded the 
city of St. Jago, and thus began the establishment of the Spanish 
domiaion in that province. 

But of all the enterprises undertaken about this period, that of 
Gonzalo Pizarro was the most remarkable. The governor, who seems 
to have resolved that no person in Peru should possess any station of 
distinguished eminence or authority but those of his own family, had 
deprived Benalcazar, the conqueror of Quito, of his command in that 
kingdom, and appointed his brother Gonzalo to conduct its government. 
He instructed his brother also to attempt the discovery and conquest 
of the country to the east of the Andes, which, according to the in- 
formation of the Indians, abounded with cinnamon and other valuable 
spices. Gonzalo, not inferior to any of his brothers in courage, and 
no less ambitious of acquiring distinction, eagerly engaged in this 
difficult service. He set out from Quito at the head of three hundred 
and forty soldiers, near one-half of whom were horsemen, with four 
thousand Indians to carry their provisions. In forcing their way 
through the defiles or over the ridges of the Andes, excess of cold and 
fatigue, to neither of which they were accustomed, proved fatal to the 
greater part of their wretched attendants. The Spaniards, though more 
robust, and inured to a variety of climates, suffered considerably, and 
lost some men ; but when they descended into the low country their dis- 
tress increased. During two months it rained incessantly, without any 
interval of fair weather long enough to dry their clothes. The 
immense plans upon which they were now entering, altogether without 
inhabitants or occupied by the rudest and least industrious tribes in 
the New World, yielded little subsistence. They could not advance a 
step but as they cut a road through woods, or made it through marshes. 
Such incessant toils, and continued scarcity of food, seem more than 



104: THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

sufficient to have exhausted and dispirited any troops. Allured by 
frequent and false accounts of rich countries before them, they per- 
sisted in struggling on until they reached the banks of the Coca, or 
Napo, one of the large rivers whose waters pour into the Maragnon, 
and contribute to its grandeur. There, with immense and persevering 
labour, they built a barque, which they expected would prove of great 
utility in conveying them over rivers, in procuring provisions, and in 
exploring the country. This was manned with fifty soldiers, under 
the command of Francis Orellano, the officer next in rank to Gonzalo 
Pizarro ; and the stream carried them down with such rapidity, that 
they were soon far ahead of their countrymen, who followed slowly, 
and with difficulty, by land. 

At this distance from his commander, Orellano, a young man of an 
aspiring mind, began to fancy himself independent, and, transported 
with the predominant passion of the age, he formed the scheme of dis- 
tinguishing himself as a discoverer by following the course of the 
Maragnon until it joined the ocean, and by surveying the vast regions 
through which it flows. This scheme of Orellano's was as bold as it 
was treacherous, for he violated his duty to his commander, and 
abandoned his fellow-soldiers in a trackless desert, where they had 
hardly any hopes of success, or even of safety, but what were founded 
on the service which they expected from the barque ; thus attempting 
to open his path to glory over the graves of his countrymen. Yet so 
great was his daring, that he ventured the navigation of nearly 
six thousand miles, through unknown nations, in a vessel hastily 
constructed with green timber and by very unskilful hands, without 
provisions, without a compass, and without a pilot. Committing himself 
fearlessly to the guidance of the stream, the Napo bore him along to the 
south until he reached the great channel of the Maragnon. Turning 
with it towards the coast, he held on his course in that direction. He 
made frequent descents on both sides of the river, sometimes seizing by 
force of arms the provisions of the fierce savages seated on its banks,, 
and sometimes procuring a supply of food by a- friendly intercourse 
with more gentle tribes. After a long series of dangers, which he 
encountered with amazing fortitude, he reached the ocean, where new 
perils awaited him. These he likewise surmounted, and got safe to the 
Spanish settlement in the island of Cuba ; from thence he sailed to 
Spain. The vanity natural to travellers who visit regions unknown to 
the rest of mankind, and the art of an adventurer solicitous to magnify 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



105 



his own merits, concurred in prompting him to mingle an extraordinary- 
amount of the marvellous with the narrative of his voyage. He pre- 
tended to have discovered nations so rich that the roofs of their temples. 




were covered with plates of gold, and described a republic of women 
so warlike and powerful as to have extended their dominion over a 
considerable tract of the fertile plains which he had visited. Extra- 



106 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

vagant as those tales were, they gave rise to an opinion that a region 
abounding with gold, distinguished by the name of El Dorado, and a 
community of Amazons were to be found in this part of the Kew 
World; and such is the propensity of mankind to believe what is 
wonderful, that it has been slowly and with difficulty that reason and 
observation have exploded such fables. The voyage, however, even 
when stripped of every romantic embellishment, deserves to be recorde'd, 
not only as one of those memorable occurrences of that adventurous 
age, but as the first event which led to any certain knowledge of the 
extensive countries that stretch eastward from the Andes to the ocean. 

No words can describe the consternation of Gonzalo Pizarro on not 
finding the barque at the confluence of the Napo and Maragnon, where he 
had ordered Orellano to wait for him. He would not allow himself to 
suspect that a man whom he had entrusted with such an important 
command could be so base as to desert him at such a juncture ; but 
imputing his absence from the place of rendezvous to some unknown 
accident, he advanced above fifty leagues along the banks of the 
Maragnon, expecting every moment to see the barque appear with a 
supply of provisions. At length he came up with an officer whom 
Orellano had heartlessly left to perish in the desert, because he had the 
courage to remonstrate against his perfidy. From him he learned the 
extent of Orellano's crime, and his followers perceived at once their own 
desperate situation when deprived of their only resource. The spirit 
of the stoutest-hearted veteran sank within him, and all demanded to be 
led back instantly. Gonzalo Pizarro, though he assumed an appearance 
of tranquillity, did not oppose their inclination. But he was twelve 
hundred miles from Quito ; and in that long march the Spaniards 
encountered hardships greater than those they had endured in their 
progress outward, without the alluring hope which then soothed and 
animated them under their sufferings. Hunger compelled them to feed 
on roots and berries, to eat all their dogs and horses, to devour the most 
loathsome reptiles, and even to gnaw the leather off their saddles and 
sword-belts. Four thousand Indians and 210 Spaniards perished in 
this wild, disastrous expedition, which continued nearly two years ; and 
as fifty men were on board the barque with Orellano, only fourscore got 
back to Quito. These were naked, like savages, and so emaciated with 
famine that they had more the appearance of spectres than of men. 

During the absence of Gonzalo, Pizarro had been still further 
involving himseK in the most serious difficulties ; making hosts of 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 107 

enemies, and growing utterly careless as to all consequences. Th.e 
adherents of Almagro were not likely to forgive their own injuries, in 
that they were denied their share of the plunder, even if they forgot 
the fate of their friend. Young Ahnagro was greatly beloved — loved 
for his own sake as well as for that of his father ; he was a young man 
of prepossessing manners, of soldierly bearing, and generous heart. The 
Almagrians — many of them reduced to absolute want and burning to 
revenge themselves on Pizarro — saw in this youth a fit leader for their 
enterprise. 

Eumours of the plot were afloat in Lima ; Pizarro was warned, but 
he treated the whole matter with contempt, satisfied, as he expressed it, 
that he was perfectly safe so long as every man in Peru knew that he 
could in a moment cut off any head which dared to harbour a thought 
against him. 

So the conspirators formed a plan for the assassination of Pizarro. 
They waited and watched — made no over-haste in the matter ; but 
when the hour came struck the blow effectually. 

As the conspirators traversed the plaza, one of the party made a 
circuit to avoid a little pool of water that lay in their path. " What !" 
exclaimed Rada, " afraid of wetting your feet when you are to wade up 
to your knees in blood!" And he ordered the man to give up the 
enterprise, and go home to his quarters. The anecdote is charac- 
teristic. 

The governor's palace stood on the opposite side of the square. It 
was approached by two courtyards. The entrance to the outer one 
was protected by a massive gate, capable of being made good against a 
hundred men or more ; but it was left open, and the assailants, hurrying 
through to the inner court, still shouting their fearful battle-cry, were 
met by two domestics loitering in the yard. One of these they struck 
down. The other, flying in all haste towards the house, called out — 
" Help ! help ! the men of Chili are all coming to murder the 
governor" 

Pizarro was at this time at dinner, or, more probably, had just dined. 
He was surrounded by a party of friends, who had dropped in, it seems, 
after mass, to inquire after the state of his health, some of whom had 
remained to partake of his repast. Among these was Don Martinez de 
Alcantura, Pizarro's haK-brother by the mother's side ; the Judge 
Velasquez, the bishop elect of Quito, and several of the principal 
cavaliers in the place, to the nmnber of fifteen or twenty. Some of 



108 



THE GOLDEN AJVIERICAS. 



them, alarmed by tlie uproar in the courtyard, left the saloon, and 
running down to the first landing on the stairway, inquired into the 
cause of the disturbance. No sooner were they informed of it by the 
cries of the servant, than they retreated with precipitation into the 
house ; and, as they had no mind to abide the storm unarmed, or at best 
imperfectly armed, as most of them were, they made their way to a 
corridor that overlooked the gardens, into which they easily let them- 
selves down without injury. Yelasquez, the judge, the better to have 




THE ESCURIAL, MADEID. 



the use of his hands in his descent, held his rod of office in his mouth ; 
thus taking care, says a caustic old chronicler, not to falsify his 
assurance that "no harm should come to Pizarro while the rod of 
justice was in his hands." ■ 

Meanwhile the governor, learning the nature of the tumult, calle^ 
out to Francisco de Chaves, an officer high in his confidence, and who 
was in the outer apartment opening on the staircase, to secure the 
door, while he and his brother Alcantura buckled on their armour. 
Had his order, coolly given, been as coolly obeyed, it would have 
saved them all, since the entrance could easily have been maintained 
against a much larger force till the report of the cavalier who had fled 
had brought support to Pizarro. But, unfortunately, Chaves, disobey- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 109 

ing his commander, half-opened the door, and attempted to enter into 
a parley with the conspirators. The latter had now reached the head 
of the stairs, and cut short the debate by running Chaves through the 
body and tumbling his corpse down into the area below. For a moment 
they were kept at bay by the attendants of the slaughtered cavalier ; 
but these, too, were quickly despatched, and Rada and his companions, 
entering the apartment, hurried across it, shouting out — 

" Where is the marquis ? Death to the tyrant !" 

Martinez de Alcantura, who, in the adjoining room, was assisting 
his brother to buckle on his mail, no sooner saw that the entrance to 
the antechamber had been gained, than he sprang to the doorway of 
the apartment, and, assisted by two young men, pages of Pizarro's, 
and by one or two cavaliers in attendance, endeavoured to resist the 
approach of the assailants. A desperate struggle now ensued. Blows 
were given on both sides, some of which proved fatal ; and two of the 
conspirators were slain, while Alcantura and his brave companions were 
repeatedly wounded. 

At length Pizarro, unable, in the hurry of the moment, to adjust 
the fastenings of his cuirass, threw it away, and enveloping one arm in 
his cloak, with the other seized his sword, and sprang to his brother's 
assistance. It was too late ; for Alcantura was already staggering 
under the loss of blood, and soon fell to the ground. Pizarro threw 
himseK on his invaders like a lion roused in his lair, and dealt his blows 
with as much rapidity and force as if age had no power to stiffen his 
limbs. 

" What ho !" he cried, " traitors ! have you come to kill me in my 
own house ?" 

The conspirators drew back for a moment, as two of their body fell 
under Pizarro's sword ; but they quickly rallied, and, from their superior 
numbers, fought at great advantage by relieving one another in the 
assault. Still, the passage was narrow, and the struggle lasted for some 
minutes, till both of Pizarro's pages were stretched by his side, when 
Rada, impatient of the delay, called out — " Why are we so long about 
it? Down with the tyrant!" And taking one of his companions, 
Narvaez, in his arms, he thrust him against the governor. 

Pizarro, instantly grappling with his opponent, ran him through 
with his sword ; but at that moment he received a wound in the throat, 
and, reeling, he sank on the floor, while the swords of Rada and several 
of the conspirators were plunged into his body. 



110 



THE GOLDEN^ AJVIERICAS. 



*' Jesu !" exclaimed the dying man, and tracing a cross with his 
finger on the bloody floor, he bent down his head to kiss it, when a 
stroke more friendly than the rest put an end to his existence. 

Waving aloft their blood-stained swords the conspirators rushed 
into the streets, declaring what they had done ; they were joined by 
about two hundred of their friends ; they carried young Almagro in 
solemn procession through the city ; then assembling the magistrates 
and powerful citizens, induced them to acknowledge him as his father's 
successor in the government. 

So ended the rule and the life of Pizarro — a man of heroic endurance 
and undaunted courage, but a man who knew neither pity nor remorse. 
Southey has well written of him — 

" Pizarro here was bom ; a greater name 
The list of glory boasts not. Toil and pain. 
Famine and hostile elements, and hosts 
Embattled, failed to check him in his course ; 
Not to be wearied, not to be deterred, 
Not to be overcome. A mighty realm 
He overran, and, vsdth relentless aim, 
Slew or enslaved its unoffending sons, 
And wealth, and power, and fame were his rewards. 
There is another world beyond the grave, 
According to their deeds where men are judged. 
reader! if thy daily bread he earned 
By daily labour — yea, however low. 
However wretched be thy lot assigned, 
Thank thou, with deepest gratitude, the God 
Who made thee, that thou art not such as he." 




HEEALDIC ARMS OF PERU 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. Ill 



CHAPTER V. 

Pizarro's Successes Excite the Emulation of liis Countrymen — " Gaping" after 
the Eicli Land — Peru the Magnet— How Martin de Souza Proposed to Reach 
the Golden Regions— Concerning Alexis Garcia— A Bold March, and what 
Came of it — Is he Dead or Ahve ? — George Sedentio goes in Search of 
Garcia — The Paraguayans FaU on the Embassy — A Deceitful Act — Sebastian 
Cabot Hits on the Mainland of America — He is also fortunate enough to 
Discover the Silver River — After the Fashion of Discoverers he takes Pos- 
session of it in the Name of an Earthly King — A Mare's Nest — Sebastian 
Hertado — ^A Difficulty — A Brutal Act of Passion — Death — Fort Holy Ghost 
—Wild Stories -Gold— Making a Clutch at Wealth— Gold, the Bitterest 
Curse of Man — Peter Mendoza and his Followers— The City of Buenos 
Ayres — Some Account of the Place as it is now — The Indians Indignant — 
A Fight with the Indians — Famine — The Story of the Woman named Mal- 
deneda — A Lion's Gratitude — John Oyola — The High Road to Peru — How 
Saint Blaze Fought for Corpus Christi — Ivala Chosen Governor — Buenos 
Ayres Abandoned — Building of the City of the Assumption — The Religious 
Element — A Solemn Fast — Indian Treachery — An Indiscreet Old Lady — 
The Land of Golden Mystery — Up the River — The Island of Paradise— A 
City Forsaken — Worshipping a Serpent — The Land of Peru — The Great 
River — ^Mineral Products — Golden Treasure — Agriculture — The People. 

"piZARRO having accomplished so mucli in the way of winning 
-^ wealth for Spain in the New World, incited others by his example to 
emulate his successes. The Spaniards, as an old writer tells us, "gaping 
after the vast wealth of the Incas, kings of those parts, possessed them- 
selves of a large tract of land along the Pacifick Ocean, commonly 
called the South Sea." Peru was the magnet; the country it was 
affirmed, and indeed was proved, abounded in gold and silver ; the only 
question was how to reach it by the easiest and speediest course, and 
people set themselves to devise the means. Some of these people knew 
nothing, and were, as a natural consequence, confident that their scheme 
must succeed. But there were others who knew much of the matter, 
and who pondered before they spoke, which in a general way it may be 
said it is a wise thing to do. 

Among those who first proposed to reach Peru along the coasts of 
the Atlantic or North Sea was Martin de Souza, who governed Brazil 
for John II. of Portugal and divided it into provinces, and was 
ambitious to vie with the Spaniards in discovering new countries that 
might increase his majesty's dominions. For this purpose he sent Alexis 
Garcia, a man of undaunted resolution, with his son, three Portuguese, 



112 



THE GOLDEN AJSIERICAS. 



and a number of native Indians, from tlie southern part of BrazH to 
pierce as far as might be into Central America. Garcia marching with 
his company some three hundred leagues, came into Paraguay, and 
inducing some two thousand of the people to recognise him as their 
captain, fell upon the Peruvians, seized much spoil, and sending his 
Portuguese companions back to Brazil for further assistance, was 
cruelly murdered by the Indians who had voluntarily followed him. 
His son was spared on account of his youth, and, says the historian, 
" the father's memory will live for ever, because he durst with so small 
a company traverse almost all the land between the two seas that 
encompass South America, travelling unknown ways where no Euro- 




pean had been before, and through fierce and warlike nations, showing 
that nothing is impracticable to those who prefer gain and benefit of 
posterity to their own lives." His companions returned to BrazU, and 
besides the account which they gave of the friendships contracted with 
the people of Paraguay and of the wealth of the Inca, produced pieces 
of gold and silver as confirmatory evidence of the truth of their 
assertions. 

The Portuguese were overjoyed by the intelligence. Here they saw 
the way to rival Leon and Castile. One George Sedentio, a brave 
man but not over-prudent, placed himself at the head of some sixty of 
his countrymen and marched to the rehef of Garcia, whom they expected 
to find aHve. When the Paraguayans beheld this reinforcement they 
imagined it had been sent to avenge the murder of Garcia, and at once 
fell upon it, killing its commander and putting his followers to flight. 
It was then that the Paranessian Indians, affecting to be the friends of 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 113 

the Portuguese, committed a gross act of treachery. They invited 
them iuto their boats, promising to take them safely to the other side 
of the Paraguayan river ; but the boats into which they enticed the 
fugitives were rotten and worm-eaten, and being in the middle of the 
river, the Indians pulled off the clay which they used instead of pitch, 
by which means the boats sank, drowning all the Portuguese ; the Para- 
nessians, who were naked and good swimmers, getting safe to shore. 
Very plainly there was a lot of rough Avork to be done, and those who 
tried to do it must be fearless. Pizarro was fearless. He had achieved 
much simply through his fearlessness ; he was not to be daunted ; if he 
must die he must die, but the work he proposed to himself must be 
carried through at all hazards. Perhaps there were men as brave as 
Pizarro with more principle in them, and from observation and expe- 
rience we may know, if we will, that principle is the strongest thing 
under the sun to carry a man through. 

We have all heard of Sebastian Cabot. He was the son of 
Giovanni Gabota, better known as John Cabot. This man had been 
a true friend to Columbus, and encouraged him in his enterprise as to 
the finding of a new world. In daring and ingenuity he was scarcely 
inferior to the Genoese sailor, and he was not content to "hug-" the 
coast, as was the practice of mariners in those days ; hugging it, lest 
haply they should be floated out to mid-ocean and never find their way 
back to land again. He was confident that a north-west passage might 
be discovered, and acted on his own theory as to how it was to be 
found ; he is said to have hit on the mainland of America before it was 
ever seen by St. Christopher. Sebastian adopted his father's theory, 
and made a voyage some years later in which he comforted himself 
that, but for a mutiny amongst his men, he should certainly have 
succeeded. This Sebastian Cabot, painfully convinced that finding 
encouragement at home was almost or altogether as hard as finding 
the north-west passage, took service with Sixain and went out to the 
Golden Americas. 

Sebastian Cabot was fortunate enough to discover the liio de la 
Plata, the Plate or Silver River, and after the manner of discoverers 
he took possession of it in the name of his majesty of Spain. He 
v,^ent in and out freely among the people on its banks, and found 
them apparently harmless and hospitable, he being totally unacquainted 
with the fate of poor Garcia. When the Indians exhibited to him 
several articles of plate which had belonged to the unfortunate man, 

I 



114 THE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 

Cabot took theni for specimens of native manufacture, and was struck 
by the artistic ability of these untutored aborigines. He offered to 
buy them and his offer was accepted, and thus he became the possessor 
of stolen goods of robbery accompanied with violence. As the natives 
offered no opposition and were disposed to be friendly, Cabot erected a 
fort, and, making it as strong as circumstances would allow, dedicated 
it to the Holy Ghost, and leaving two of his chief captains — ^Nuna de 
Lara and another — in charge with a garrison of 120 men, hastened to 
Spain to tell of the discoveries he had made, and discount^them as 
profitably as possible. 

Now there was in the fort a right trusty fellow, who bore the name 
of Sebastian Hertado. He was every inch a soldier, " his soul as far 
from fraud as heaven from earth." He had a wife named Lucy 
Mirando, and Mangora, chief of the Timbussians, saw her, coveted, 
and resolved on her capture. Hertado, suspecting no evil, lived on 
very friendly terms with the natives, and was particularly courteous to 
the wily chief. It was the habit of the Indians, "for a consideration," 
to send provisions into the Spanish fort, and this was regarded as a sort 
of bond of union between the two peoples. One day it happened that 
Hertado was away from the fort at the time the Indians had to deliver 
provisions. Mangora, the chief, had calculated upon this circumstance, 
and had collected together no less than four thousand men. He did 
not allow them to appear, but kept them in ambush while he sent on 
the ordinary number with the supply of food. No opposition was 
made to the entrance of these men; on the contrary, bringing such 
excellent supplies, they were very heartily v/elcome. The garrison 
neglected their common precautions, and were suddenly overwhelmed 
by the appearance of a formidable army. A frightful massacre, battle 
it could not be called, ensued — a fearful slaughter, which swept away 
all excepting Lucy Mirando, four boys, and four women. Nuna de 
Lara killed Mangora, but was himself slain. "\^'e can in some degree 
imagine the deplorable condition of Lucy ; no sooner was Mangora 
killed than his brother Siripus made overtures of love. On finding 
himself scornfully rejected, he made a close and vigilant search for 
Hertado. The search was successful ; Hertado was captured, and then 
the brutal savage dealt out his vengeance on the man and wife. Lucy 
was burnt to death ; Hertado was fastened to the trunk of a tree, and 
shot to death with arrows. 

A few men had accompanied Hertado, and as soon as these few 



THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 115 

heard of what had befallen the garrison at Fort Holy Ghost, they 
retired to the other side of the river, where they built a fort under the 
command of Mosquera. There they were joined by Edward Perez, a 
Portuguese, who secretly plotted that the Spanish fort might be taken 
from those who held it, but who signally failed. 

In the meanwhile, Cabot had reached Spain, and was adding fuel to 
the fire of enthusiasm with regard to the Golden Americas. What 
marvels were there he had not seen with his own eyes ! — what unheard- 
of, undreamed-of treasure was there to be had for the seeking in the 
auriferous region he had so recently left ! We must not accuse Master 
Cabot of being the author of all the wild stories that were afloat — 
Indians walking about with their heads under their arms ; rivers where 
the net was used to fish up gold ; fountains which secured health and 
long life ; pools which changed everything to gold ; mines full of 
richest treasure. AA^hat Cabot told other people exaggerated Gold 
everywhere ; palaces of gold wrought in the most elaborate fashion ; 
temples of gold with golden altars ; houses of gold, with golden doors 
and golden tables, and sofas of gold; and carpets of golden thread, 
and cushions stuffed with gold-dust, golden pipes, golden divans, and 
gold all studded with precious stones. Diamonds such as an Indian 
mogul never saw, nor yet were yielded by Golconda ; rubies such as 
never yet were found in the rich sands of Ceylon ; pearls such as never 
yet were brought by divers from the depths of the deep ; emeralds, one 
of them worshipped as a goddess by the Peruvians ; sapphires and 
amethysts, carbuncles, topazes, garnets, and beryls ; trees of gold and 
grass of gold, and dewdrops of pearls and rivers of silver ; a land 
where metal held its own, and men had but to stretch forth the hand 
to take of the fruit of the tree of all commercial life. Cabot's state- 
ments, and the exaggeration of those who repeated them, turned the 
heads of the Spaniards ; they were thirsting for gold, they were hungry 
for gold, and were right wilhng to brave all dangers to make a clutch 
at that which, badly employed, shall prove the bitterest curse of man, 
and eat into the flesh as it were fire ! 

Two thousand two hundred men shipped themselves under Peter 
Mendoza, and sailed from Cadiz. Every one of the company expected 
to come home laden with wealth. An awful storm fell on them during 
the voyage, and had their cargo been of gold it must all have gone 
overboard to lighten the ships. Some of the vessels took refuge in the 
harbour of Rio de Janeiro, and those aboard were thankful for their 



116 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

lives. They subsequently got together again, with some losses, on 
the banks of the Plate River, and there they built the city of Buenos 
Ay res. 

The city is built upon a bank from fifteen to twenty feet above the 
level of the river. Including its suburbs it extends north and south 
for upwards of ten miles, with a breadth in its centre of about one mile 
and a half. It is built on a uniform plan ; the streets, which are all 
straight, intersect each other at right angles at every hundred and fifty 
yards, dividing it into a number of squares, each having an area of 
about four English acres. The provincial streets, which were formerly 
all but impassable in wet weather, while in the dry season they were 
obscured with clouds of dust, are now tolerably well paved and pro- 
vided with footpaths on either side. The houses and other buildings 
have also been greatly improved within the last few years, and their 
interiors rendered much more comfortable ; upper stories are now gene- 
rally added to them ; chimneys, that were formerly all but unknown, 
are common ; they are supplied with English grates, and with coals 
carried out from Liverpool as ballast. Most sorts of European furni- 
ture have found their way into the residences of the upper classes. 
Almost every house in the principal streets has a garden both before 
and behind it, and many have latticed balconies in which odoriferous 
shrubs are reared. Though on the edge of one of the greatest rivers 
in the world, water in Buenos Ayres is both scarce and dear. The 
wells, though numerous, afford nothing but hard, brackish water, unfit 
for culinary purposes. There are no public cisterns ; rain-water is, 
indeed, carefully collected in a few private tanks, but the mass of the 
people have to pay high for their daily supply, which, instead of being 
raised from the river by machinery, and conveyed in conduits to public 
pumps, is carried about in butts mounted on bullock-carts. 

The quarter of the city inhabited by Mestizos and negroes is 
wretched and filthy in appearance, and strongly contrasts with the 
opulence and taste displayed in the other parts. The Plaza, or great 
square, contains the cathedral and the town-hall, a handsome stone 
edifice built by the Jesuits ; and a whole side of it is occupied by the 
Recova, a range of piazzas a hundred and fifty yards long and above 
twenty in width, inclosing a double range of shops. In the centre of 
the square is a small obelisk erected to commemorate the declaration of 
independence. The town-hall is chiefly used as a prison, but meetings 
of the municipality are sometimes held in the upper rooms, and from 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



117 



the balcony the citizens are harangued on public occasions. The 
cathedral — a large, handsome edifice, with a cupola and porticoes — 
has its interior profusely decorated with carving and gilding, and its 




NATIVE ARTISAN. 



dome painted in compartments representing the Acts of the Apostles. 
The church of the Franciscans and that of the Convent of Mercy are 
next in rank, and have steeples and cupolas nearly in the same style as 
the cathedral. In the former there is a painting of the " Last Supper," 



118 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

^ell executed by a native Indian artist. There are many other Catholic 
churches, several convents and nunneries, a Protestant church, Presby- 
terian chapel, &c., a foundling hospital, orphan asylum, and other 
benevolent institutions. These edifices are all built of fine white stone 
found in the plain not far from the city. The fort, which contains the 
residence of the supreme director and the government offices, is a 
square brick and stone building near the river. The university — one 
of the most celebrated iii South America — occupies a very extensive 
building, which has recently been fitted up at a great expense ; a suite 
of six rooms in this building contains the state library, a good collec- 
tion of about 25,000 volumes. 

The estuary of the Eata is very broad, but is also in most parts 
shallow, incumbered with sandbanks, and infested with sudden gusts 
of wind called pamperos. Its navigation is consequently attended with 
a good deal of difficulty, and ships bound for Buenos Ayres generally 
take pilots on board. There is no harbour, and vessels drawing sixteen 
or seventeen feet water anchor in the outer roads, called the Amar- 
radero, seven or eight miles from the shore, loading and unloading by 
means of lighters. This, too, is an operation by no means free from 
danger, boats being sometimes swamped in crossing the bar between 
the outer and inner roads. From the want of a pier, and the shallow- 
ness of the water on the beach, even the boats are not able to come 
close to the shore, but are met at a little distance from it by a rude sort 
of ox-carts, into which they deposit their goods at favourable circum- 
stances, which might, however, be much improved by a little exertion 
and outlay on the part of the government. This operates as a heavy 
drawback on the trade of the city, and tends proportionably to augment 
that of Montevideo, which is more easily accessible. But notwith- 
standing the competition of the latter, and the great increase of its 
trade of late years, Buenos Ayres is still the principal outlet for the 
produce of the vast countries traversed by the La Plata, and especially 
for the provinces situated on its right bank. 

But the Spaniards were not permitted to build up their city of 
Buenos Ayres without molestation. The native Indians showed con- 
siderable animosity ; and sometimes by open hostility, and at other 
times by secret intrigue, they hindered the progress of the work and 
endangered the safety of the settlers. The settlers deserved very little 
consideration from the Indians, upon whose lands they seized without 
scruple, and whom they treated rather worse than their dogs. They 



THE GOLDEN^ AIVIERICAS. 119 

took tlieir stand 'on the Catholic authority of his majesty of Spain, and 
were exceedingly hard on the aborigines, who would not or could not 
understand by what right they did these things. On one occasion the 
Indians attacked the settlers in overwhelming numbers, and slew many, 
but the Spaniards defeated them, and made great slaughter. 

It happened shortly after this that a grievous famine fell upon 
the Spaniards, and the people of Buenos Ayres seemed given over to 
destruction. At the beginning of the scarcity very stringent regula- 
tions were made and strictly enforced as to the commissariat, and one 
man who was detected stealiog a lettuce was stripped of his ears in the 
market-place. It is 'probable that such examples were needed, for the 
Spaniards ready to perish had but small regard for the difference 
between mine and thine. Gradually the famine increased, and the 
rations had to be reduced. The miserable people had the appearance 
of so many ghosts as they glided through the streets, and cast longing 
eyes on the foulest and most offensive carrion. 

There is a very curious story told by one of the old writers con- 
cerning a woman named Maldeneda. Dying of starvation in the city, 
she ventured to quit the gates, and preferred exposing her life to the 
wild beasts or the savages rather than perish with hunger. Creeping 
into a den — a natural cavern — she found herself face to face with a 
lioness, but the 'poor beast was acutely suffering, and Maldeneda 
bestirred herself to render it what help she could. The creature re- 
covered, and the woman for weeks dwelt with it in the cave, the animal 
going forth at night and bringing in the prey which it had taken, and 
which served for their joint support. When Maldeneda returned to 
the city certain charges of sorcery were brought against her, and she 
was condemned to be exposed to the v/ild beasts. This was done ; but 
amongst these wild beasts was the lioness she had befriended, which now 
became her preserver ; standing by her side, it flew at any beast that 
attempted to harm her, and so her life was saved. She afterwards found 
a refuge among the Indians. Stories have been told of similar instances 
of gratitude and devotion on the part of the lion, but what amount of 
credit is to be attached to them it is impossible to say. 

Some time after the famine was over, John Oyola, the deputy- 
governor, made a journey towards Peru, leaving Dominick Ivala in 
charge. Oyola was convinced that an easy, or at least a practicable, 
road might 'be found through Paraguay to Peru, and he was not mis- 
taken. As to the native Indians, some of them offered considerable 



120 



THE GOLDEN^ AMERICAS. 



opposition to his progress, while others professed the most friendly 
regard. They were all alike wily and treacherous. Knowing that the 
fort of Corpus Christi was but badly garrisoned, they made an attack 
upon it, but were repulsed ; throughout the fight, as a Spanish autho- 
rity informs us, the figure of a man with a glory round his head, and a 
sword in his hand, was seen above the fortress— a spiritual champion, 
who was none other than St. Blaze ! 




CHAKLES V. OF GERMANY. 



In the meantime Oyola penetrated into Peru, and there he was 
fully convinced that of the wealth of the land the half had not been 
told him. The Indian who had been his guide assisted him in securing 
a large amount of treasure, with which he began his return journey. 
His Indian guides had no intention of allowing him and his few fol- 
lowers to reach Buenos Ayres. In the dead of night the perfidious 
natives fell on the little band, of which not one escaped alive. 

On the receipt of news of Oyola's death, Ivala was chosen governor, 
which choice was confirmed by a commission under the Emperor 
Charles Y. It then became a grave question whether it would be best 
to build a number of small towns and forts so as to command a wide 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 121 

range of ground, or, keeping well together, erect a stronghold that 
would be capable of defying the Indians. The Indians, indeed, rendered 
the occupation of Buenos Ayres next to impossible, and it was at last 




resolved to abandon this station and to build a new town higher up the 
river. The City of the Assumption, or Asuncion, was founded in the 
year 1535, on the summit of a commanding eminence on the left bank 



122 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

•of the Paraguay. From its advantageous position it became of sufficient 
importance to be made a bishopric in 1547. That was esteemed as a 
great honour, and friars, "black, white, and grey," abounded as they 
do now, convents and nunneries being the most prominent buildings in 
the place. 

Affairs had not gone well with the Spanish settlers in Paraguay. 
Of all the host that had come forward to enrich themselves with gold 
and silver, but six hundred remained alive when the town of Assumption 
was founded — "To show us," says the Spanish historian, "the great 
mischief that attends the search after wealth, which is the incentive of 
all evil." 

In 1539 a solemn fast was held in Assumption, for the troubles of 
the settlers had been many. Fasting and penance was to be strictly 
observed ; flagellants were to traverse the streets stripped to the girdle, 
and vigorously applying knotted cords to their naked shoulders as they 
sang the penitential psalms. The Indians had made themselves 
acquainted with what was to take place, and regarded it as an excellent 
opportunity for falling on the Spaniards and puttiDg them to death. 
The, conspiracy was carefully arranged, and notification was made to 
the Indians who resided in the city as to what was to be done. ISTow 
there was one Spanish gentleman to whom an old Indian woman was 
much attached, and when she heard of the intended massacre she could 
not forbear communicating to her master the danger in which he was 
placed. He went straight to the governor, and the aifair was laid 
before the council. Next day, when the wily Indians flocked through, 
the gates, they found the Spaniards fully pr8X3ared for them. A great 
battle followed, in which the Indians were defeated with much loss. 

But Peru was the land of golden mystery to which the Paraguayan 
•settlers would fain penetrate, and the river, to Governor Ivala, seemed 
to be the highv.^ay that led to it. An expedition was accordingly fitted 
out, and a voyage undertaken up the river. It chanced on the voyage : 
that the expedition arrived at a very beautiful island, on which the 
voyagers landed and gave the name of Paradise. The island was 
clothed with the richest verdure, abounded with fresh water, yielded 
delicious fruit, and was apparently free from everything noxious. Here, 
much to the indignation of Ivala, several of his company expressed 
their wish to remain. Here they had found what they had sought in 
vain elsewhere— a more secure refuge from the Indians than was to be 
had on the banks of the river, an island they could easily defend, and 



THE GOLDEN^ AMERICAS. 123 

where they could dream away their lives surrounded by everything 
captivating to the senses. The governor's appeals and threats at last 
prevailed, and the voyage was continued. 

They reached Peru, entered a town which the people had abandoned 
at their approach, and found no living thing within it except a huge 
and hideous serpent which the natives worshipped as a god. This 
reptile was in a gorgeous temple, and was destroyed with much diffi- 
'Culty. 

Everything in Peru, the serpent excepted, delighted the new comers, 
and nothing was more welcome than the abundance of gold which they 
easily discovered. 

Peru extends over a vast and varied region, its area being estimated 
at 500,000 square miles. The country is naturally divided into three 
regions — that between the coast and the Andes, that occupied by the 
Andes, and the region east of the Andes forming a part of the basin of 
the Amazon. There is a wonderful variety in these three regions in all 
their physical characteristics. The coast region, from Tumbez on the 
northern frontier, to the river Leche, is mostly a desert and sandy waste 
in the last degree barren. The Andes and their ramifications have been 
roughly estimated as covering an area of 200,000 square miles. They 
consist of two main chains, or Cordilleras, connected in many parts by 
cross ranges and inclosing several extensive valleys. The space 
inclosed between the Eastern and Western Cordilleras, called the Sierra, 
is partly occupied by mountains and naked rocks, partly by table-lands 
yielding short, fine grass, and extensive hilly pasture-grounds, and partly 
by fertile valleys. The third region is but little known ; it is mostly 
covered by all but interminable forests, with a scanty population 
scattered over it, and a few Roman Catholic mission stations. 

The country gives birth to one of the largest rivers in the world, the 
Amazon. This river is formed by the united waters of the Tunquraqua 
and Ucayale. The Amazon and its tributaries afford perhaps the greatest 
extent of inland navigation of any known river system. Its amount 
maybe moderately estimated at about from 40,000 to 50,000 miles. The 
Amazon itself is navigable to the east of the Andes — that is to say, a 
distance of 2,000 miles from the sea. 

" At present the vast and fertile country watered by this gigantic 
river is nearly in a state of nature, being mostly covered with dense 
forests which afford shelter to wild beasts and reptiles of various de- 
scriptions. During the period of the inundation a great extent of the 



124 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

low country on both sides of the river is laid under water. There can, 
however, be little doubt that at some future period all its immense basin 
will be occupied by civilised nations. The Amazon will then be one of 
the most important and valuable, as well as extensive, channels of 
communication in the world.*' 

But the mineral products of Peru were the great attraction for many 
years after the Spaniards made themselves the masters of the country, 
and we still associate the name with the idea of unlimited abundance of 
gold and silver. Humboldt estimated the annual value of , the precious 
metals produced in Peru at the beginning [oi [the present century at 
6,240,000 dollars (£1,248,000), but ^since that date it has materially 
declined. At the time of the Spanish invasion the"wealth of the country 
was enormous, and the inhabitants far from being an ignorant or 
uncivilised people. This is shown by the monuments which still remain 
to attest their ability, and is seen not only in the highways of the Incas, 
which may almost compete with the Roman roads, but in the specimens 
of art industry which are still preserved. 

Art, among the Peruvians, was not confined, as Vas the case in 
Mexico, with one or two exceptions, to the reproduction of sacred 
eflBgies ; it enriched the country with^reaPstatues destined to perpetuate 
the recollection of historical personages, and free from the excess of 
awkward ornament which is observable [in the productions of the 
Mexicans. We find that even the foundation of museums, which seems 
to be reserved for the most civilised nations of Europe, was not 
altogether foreign to the Peruvians. As early as the fifteenth century, 
Yasca, the general of the armies ,of Guayna Capac, had ordered each 
of the tribes composing the empire to bring the great giiaca of their 
country, that is to say, the most venerated idol ; and when these 
statues had been collected, he formed a sort of pantheon out of them. 

However indisposed we may be to put undoubting faith in what is 
told of those famous gardens of the Inca, in which flocks of alpacas 
(animals of the llama tribe) in gold were guarded by herdsmen of the 
same metal, who stood near strange animals, all combining intrinsic 
value of material with exquisite finish of workmanship ; it is not the 
same with the works in gold which Pizarro sent off to Seville imme- 
diately after the conquest, and which were intended for Charles Y., as 
an addition to the impost levied by the crown. Francisco Xeres, the 
private secretary of the conqueror, had abundant leisure to examine 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



125 



and admire them, for it was on board one of his vessels that they were 
conveyed to Europe ; and he thus describes them : — 

" On board the Sancta Maria del Campe, which arrived on the 9th 
January, 1534, were thirty-eight golu. .' and forty-eight silver vases, 




among which was a silver eagle, containing upwards of ten gallons of 
water. Two immense pans, one golden, and the other silver, capable 
of containing a whole [ox cut-in pieces, recalled to the recollection of 
the devout conquerors^the sea of brass in the temple of Jerusalem." 



126 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

We will spare the reader any account of tlie bars of gold, weighing- 
altogether 53,000 ounces, and 5,480 silver marks thrown carelessly in 
the middle of this splendid gold work of the Inca ; we will only speak 
of a golden idol of the size of a child four years old, and the dimensions 
of which are given by Xeres without any other remark of importance. 
But it is quite certain that, if the vases and the idol had been subjected ta 
the simple process of moulding on their arrival at Seville, the American 
museums in Europe would have presented much more curious specimens 
of Mexican art than are now found in them. France, no less than 
Spain, has failed to profit by the opportunities afforded her of enriching 
her collections at a moderate cost. 

The art of working in gold as applied to ornamental vases or dress, 
and the various productions of pottery, are the principal sources from 
which a knowledge of Peruvian art can be obtained in the present day. 
The costliness of the materials employed by the artists of Cuzco has 
been fatal to statuary productions. On the contrary, in the guacas of 
Peru,as in the fujpogoea of Etruria, vases are still to be met with, made 
of extremely fine clay, not, however, without a certain degree of solidity, 
in consequence of which they have greatly multiplied in cabinets of 
curiosities for some years past. The ornamentation of these vases, 
which is almost always borrowed from the animal kingdom, affords 
evidence, not only of a remarkable richness of invention in the semi- 
barbarous artist who produced them, but also of a delicate taste^ 
reminding one in some measure of that elegance of form so prominent 
in Grecian antiquity. 

With regard to agriculture, the Peruvians at the period of the 
Spanish invasion were probably more advanced than they were in 
later years, but foreign troubles and internecine warfare had reduced 
them to a very miserable condition. Dr. Smith, speaking of Peruvian 
farming of the present time, says : — " The agriculture of Huanuco, 
though alluring to the eye of the ordinary traveller, who only glances 
at its rich and waving fields of maize, inclosed within tajDias or fences 
of mud, and hedges of the Indian fig and aloe or maguey plants, is in 
every way defective. The fields OAve their luxuriance to Nature rather 
than man, except in the single advantage of water, which he often 
directs and supplies to them. Manure is a thing never thought of, and 
he implements of husbandry are of the rudest kind. The plough, 
slight and single-handed, is constructed merely of wood, and without a 
mould-board. The ploughshare is a thick iron blade (or, where iron is 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 127 

not at hand, a piece of hard iron- wood), only tied, when required for use, 
by a piece of thong, or Lasso, on the point of the plough, which divides- 
the earth very superficially. Harrows they have, properly speaking, 
none ; but sometimes use, instead, large clumsy rakes, or a green bough 
dragged over the sown ground, with a weight upon it to make it scratch 
the soil. Instead of the roller, they break down the earth intended for 
cane plants, after it has got eight or ten ploughings and cross -ploughings, 
with the heel of a short-handed hoe. For smoothing down the clods of 
earth, some Indians use a soft, flat, round stone, about the size of a 
small cheese, which has had a hole beaten through its centre by dint of 
blows with a harder and pointed stone. To the stone thus perforated 
they fix a long handle, and as they swing it about they do great 
execution in the work of cuspiando, or field-levelling. Lucern, or 
alfalfa^ is cut down, and used green, cattle and working oxen for the- 
plough and sugar mills being fed on it ; yet the scythe is not in use 
among the great planters, who find it necessary to keep two or three 
individuals at the sickle to cut down food for herds, which in the day- 
time are fed on irrigated pastures, but at night in corrals or pens. 
The inhabitants are accustomed to break up potato grounds on the face 
of steeps with deep narrow spades having long handles. In the same- 
manner the soil is turned up by those who have neither plough nor 
oxen, but who yet sow maize on the temperate flats on the hill-sides. 
People thus circumstanced make holes in the ground with a sharp - 
pointed stick, where they bury the seed. The Indian sows the white- 
grained maize in preference to the yellow, as he considers that when 
toasted it makes the best " cancha,^^ or substitute for bread, and 
that when boiled it makes the best ^^mote,''' or simply boiled maize; 
it has, moreover, the credit of making the most savoury cMca, or beer,, 
which they home-brew whenever they have a little surplus grain. They 
also make a kind of beer from the fermented juice of the maize-stalks 
compressed between small rollers of wood turned by the hand. Dry 
maize leaves and stubble are most used in the foddering of cattle. The 
sugar-mills in the valley of Huanuco are mostly made of wood, and 
wrought by oxen. On the larger estates small brass rollers are used, 
but water-power is not thought of, the proprietors adhering to the old 
practice of working with oxen day and night throughout the year, 
barring accidents, and feasts, and holidays." 

The population at the present time consists principally of native 
Indians, Spaniards, negroes, and the races of mixed origin derived 



128 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

from the foregoing ; but of the number of each we have no authentic 
'estimate. The accounts of the Indians given by recent travellers are 
in many respects conflicting and various ; we believe, however, that 
the statements of Ulloa may, on the whole, be safely depended on. 
That excellent observer represents them as in the lowest stage of 
civilisation, without any desire for the comforts and conveniences of 
civilised life, immersed in sloth and apathy, from which they can be 
rarely roused, except when they have an opportunity of indulging to 
excess in ardent spirits, for which they have an excessive fondness. 
With the exception of Mr. Stevenson, most recent travellers say they 
are dirty in the extreme, seldom taking off their clothes, even to sleep, 
•and still more rarely using water. Their habitations are miserable 
hovels, destitute of every convenience or accommodation, and disgust- 
ingly filthy. Their dress is poor and mean, and their food coarse and 
scanty. Their religion is still tainted with the superstition of their 
forefathers, but they are great observers of the external rites and 
ceremonies of the Church, and spend large sums of money in masses 
and processions : a species of profusion to which they are excited and 
encouraged by their priests, who profit by it. We have previously 
made some statements illustrative of their attainments in the arts at 
the epoch of the Spanish invasion. The oppressions to which they 
have since been subject have probably sunk them to a lower point in 
the scale of civilisation than they then occupied, and no doubt it would 
be possible, were proper care taken, materially to improve their habits 
and condition. A good deal, too, of their apathy and little progress 
in arts and industry must be ascribed to the physical circumstances 
under which they have been placed, the mildness of the climate and 
the fertility of the soil, which, on the one hand, by diminishing their 
wants, and on the other, by enabling them to supply those which they 
do feel with comparatively httle exertion, take away and greatly 
weaken some of the most powerful motives that prompt to labour and 
invention. Still, however, we are well convinced, notwithstanding the 
statements and reasonings to the contrary of M. d'Orvigny and others, 
that the Indians are naturally an inferior race, and, indeed, wholly 
incapable of any degree of civilisation. The state religion is the 
Eoman Catholic, and Peru having been the country in which the direct 
influence of Spain was perhaps more felt than in any other of her 
Transatlantic possessions, a great deal of intolerance was formerly 
shown towards individuals of a different creed, though we believe a 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 129 

considerable portion of this has disappeared since the establishment of 
the republic. Lima is the seat of an archbishop, who holds the chief 
ecclesiastical authority. The Jesuits, in the seventeenth century, and 
afterwards the Franciscan monks, established various Indian missions 
in the east parts of the country. But these have almost gone to decay, 
and the former missionary college of Ocopa, about twelve miles south- 
eastern of Tarma, suppressed at the revolution, but afterwards restored, 
is by no means flourishing, and many Indians of the interior are 
relapsing into paganism. The clergy are said to be careless of their 
duties, and lax in their morals. "The Indians and curates are often 
seen chattering and driving hard bargains in relation to first-fruits 
(for tithes are collected by the state), marriages, burials, and religious 
festivals, which latter are closely interwoven with the entire social 
system of the country. The Sierra curates are men commonly much 
worn out in constitution at the age of forty. These gentlemen, when 
their home becomes irksome, start off, swayed by some sudden impulse, 
to the nearest town of white inhabitants, where they enjoy a finer 
climate and more gratifying company. The curate not unfrequently 
resorts to a mining village, under pretext, perhaps, of selling his 
primicia, or first-fruits in grain, gambling with the miners day and 
night till the primicia be all swallowed up, and the poor residentiary 
returns home involved in a debt which he cannot pay for the next six 
months, even should his curacy be worth 4,000 or 5,000 dollars a year, 
though it be oftener much less." 

The very name of Peru calls up in the imagination a boundless 
display of the precious metals. No doubt there has been gross exag- 
geration, but the Peruvian mines have indeed yielded an enormous 
amount of treasure. Potosi in Bolivia has been chiefly famous for the 
wealth of its silver mines. The city stands on the declivity of a moun- 
tain, the Cerro di Potosi, and connected with the range of the Andes. 
In the early part of the seventeenth century this city is said to have 
had a population of 150,000, but it is now almost deserted. Extensive 
suburbs, once tenanted by Indians and miners, are now without an 
inhabitant, and the vestiges of the streets are all that remain. 

" The Cerro di Potosi, which is eighteen miles in circuit and rises to 
the height of 16,037 feet, is supposed to be a solid mass either of the 
ores or the matrix of the precious metals of which it has produced a 
vast quantity. Viewed from the city it appears dyed all over with 
numerous tints, green, orange, yellow, grey, and rose colour. The 

K 



130 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

discovery of its wealth, was made by an Indian, who, in hunting some 
goats, slipped, and to save himself took hold of a shrub, which, in coming 
away from the ground, laid bare the silver at its root. The mines were 
first wrought systematically in 1545, from which time till 1803 they are 
said to have produced 1,095,500,000 piastres, or £237,358,334 worth of 
silver, on which duty was paid ; and during the same period they also 
produced a large quantity of gold ; at the same time that great quan- 
tities of both metals were smuggled or put into circulation without 
payment of the duty. About 500 openings are said to have been made 
in the mountain, but the number of mines wrought during the present 
century has rarely exceeded one hundred. At one time the mines 
yielded about 30,000 ducats a day, and for a lengthened period they 
produced about 9,000,000 dollars a year. But they had begun to 
decline long previously to the revolution, and since then they have 
been, whether from their exhaustion, defects in the mode of working, 
or the want of capital, nearly unproductive. The ore is pulverised in 
water-mills worked with over-shot wheels at from one to ten miles from 
the city." 

It was the love of gold that brought the Spaniards thither ; it was 
the love of gold that kept them there. Here's the secret; here is the 
answer to the riddle. 

'' How quickly Nature falls into revolt 
When gold becomes her object ! 
Por this the fooHsh, over-careful fathers 
Have broke their sleep Avith thought, their braia with care, 
Their bones with industry ; 
!Por this they have engross'd and piled up 
The cankered heaps of strange achieved gold; 
For this they have been thoughtful to invest 
Their sons with arts and martial exercises : 
When, like the bee, taking from every flower 
The virtuous sweets, 

Our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honey. 
We briag it to the hive, and like the bees, 
Are murdered for our pains." 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 131 



CHAPTER VI. 



The Aztecs — Great Civilisation among the People — Manners, Government, 
Laws, Literature, Art, Religion— Spanish Conquest — Rule of the Spaniards 
in Mexico— Depressed Condition of the People — Three Hundred Tears of 
Oppression — State of the Country— Physical Geography, &c. — Maximilian — 
Narrative of the Countess of Kollonitz. 

"TTTHEN the Spaniards invaded Mexico in the early part of the 
▼ * sixteenth century, that rich and extraordinary country was 
peopled, as we have seen, by a race or races to which, in a certain sense, 
the term civilised may be applied. The country was subjected to the 
government of one monarch. The people were collected together in 
cities, sometimes of considerable extent. The ancient city of Mexico, 
for example, must have had a population of 60,000 or 70,000. A mer- 
cantile class had acquired influence in the empire ; trade was held in 
respect and protected by law, and no impassable barriers of caste 
distinguished the different ranks of the people. The people followed 
different handicraft trades, the results of which were in some cases 
products of considerable excellence. The cotton fabrics, for example, 
of which specimens still exist, were good. The art of dyeing these was 
known and practised with success. Ornaments of considerable preten- 
sions were also made of gold and silver. With regard to architecture, 
many of the buildings of these ancient Aztecs were grand and massive, 
somewhat resembling the stupendous erections of Egypt, Babylon, and 
Assyria. Like them, too, they were ornamented with hieroglyphical 
writing. Cities were supplied with, water by means of aqueducts. 
Roads of good construction, such as would not disgrace a Roman 
military engineer, extended throughout the empire. The law of terri- 
torial possession was recognised, and territorial succession was regulated 
by s*-,atute. In astronomy great progress had been made ; the year was 
divided into 365 days like our own, but no odd six hours was recognised, 
to compensate for which, at the end of every fifty-two years, five days 
were added. 

All these facts tend to prove the native inhabitants, whom we may 
for convenience' sake simply term Mexicans, had entered upon that 
phase of social development whicb must be termed civilisation. Other 
proofs to this effect might be easily adduced — as, for instance, the 
existence of relays of couriers at different stages throughout the 



132 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

empire, the establishment of night-patrols, and the practice of illmni- 
nating the cities at night by bonfires lighted in the streets. But despite 
these evidences of civilisation, the Mexicans, regarded from another 
point of view, were savages in the worst acceptation of the term. They 
waged war often for no other purpose than that of making prisoners to 
offer up in sacrifice to their gods, and they were confirmed cannibals. 
That such an abyss of demoralisation as these facts presuppose should 
have been descended into by a race so cultivated is without precedent in 
the history of mankind, and still more extraordinary does it appear in 
connection with the reverence in which were held the virtues of chastity 
and temperance. The punishment for a breach of duty in either of 
these respects was death, with one remarkable exception — people above 
threescore years and ten were allowed to get drunk to their heart's 
content. "Would it not be well if people, being a law unto themselves, 
would determine never to be given to indulgence till they were seventy 
years of age ? If at that age they felt the inclination towards excess, 
Nature would not be true to herself. 

There is every reason to suppose that the consolidation of the native 
government on the basis in which the Spaniards found it had not been 
of very great antiquity. Not only was this the popular belief, but it is 
confirmed by such native records as have escaped the ravages of time 
and the destructive enthusiasm of the early Spanish missionaries, who 
destroyed the greatest number of these records (all of them hieroglyphic) 
as so many barbarous relics of idolatry. These records state that the 
various tribes constituting the native population, and of which the 
Aztecs were the most powerful, and the last to arrive from some distant 
unknown regions from the north-west, brought with them the civilised 
arts of the regions whence they had been expelled, and after wandering 
many years as nomadic tribes, at length commenced about the thirteenth 
century to build the Mexican cities. This testimony seems probable 
enough, but ethnologists are still left in the dark as to the geogra- 
phical origin of these tribes and their cognate ramifications. Although 
the first consolidation of the Mexican races into a regular government 
is represented to have taken place in the thirteenth century, yet the 
first epoch of their wanderings is referred so far back as the fifth, 
which corresponds with the Mongolian disturbance in China coeval 
with the setting in motion of the Huns ; and Humboldt assumes that 
the Mongolian race first passing into Siberia, one division passed east- 
ward into Europe, where they were subsequently known as the Huns, 



THE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 



133 




134 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

and another division entered upon the American continent, and 
eventually settled in Mexico as the Aztecs and their associate tribes. 

The seat of government was the capital, Mexico, whence the Aztec 
sovereign despatched his mandates to the tributary potentates of the 
provinces of Tescuco and Tacuba, or consulted the sacred Delphi 
of Cholula, or, at the bidding of the god of war, called the youth of the 
nation to his standard. His power, we are told, although supreme 
throughout his wide expanse of territory, was in part shared by a 
warlike aristocracy, and greatly controlled by a powerful and secret- 
working priesthood. In point of fact, the sovereign of Mexico was 
very similarly circumstanced to our Plantagenet kings, two dominant 
forces, the feudal or baronial and the ecclesiastical, modifying the 
exercise of the royal supremacy. 

According to M. Chevalier the economic and social condition of the 
Aztecs gave proofs of a high civilisation. Many prosperous towns 
which have since perished crowned the uplands of the Tierra Fria, or 
even the plains of the Tierra Caliente, and the armies of the Mexican 
emperors were larger than any that now could be mustered. We are 
told that, although without horses, cattle, or iron, the agriculture of the 
Aztecs was excellent, and their lands rich with maize and banana, and 
growing magnificent crops of cotton amidst inclj)sures of aloes and 
cactus, attested their progress in the arts of husbandry. They were 
proficient also in irrigation and gardening ; and the Spanish historians 
describe with delight how the sides of their hills were bright with 
terraces of shrubs and flowers, artificially watered, and how their 
lagoons appeared to blossom with their floating nurseries of the 
chinampas. With regard to their architecture, it was well displayed 
in stately streets and magnificent causeways, in huge pyramidical 
monuments rivalling those of Egypt, but of sculpture and painting 
they seem to have been ignorant, except in their rudest and coarsest 
forms, but they were much skilled in fashioning ornaments of gold and 
silver. "In mining they seem to have made no progress, but they had 
advanced in other mechanical arts, and the vessels with which they 
navigated their lakes, the mills with which they ground their corn, the 
earthenware which ornamented their dwellings — even their weapons of 
war, which ingeniously supplied the want of iron by other devices — 
are enumerated by the Spanish writers as evidences of their real 
civilisation." 

Although the literature of the Aztecs was confined to the use of 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 135 

hieroglypliics, it nevertheless exhibited a considerable amount of mental 
culture. In the symbolic pictures which speak at once to the eye there 
is very much of force and energy — indeed, it is plain that this Aztec 
race had in them the germ of a great and mighty people. The Spaniards 
tell us that in poetry this singular race were peculiarly gifted, and 
that they were reminded in many of their sacred songs of the Psalms 
of David. It is asserted that the invaders ruthlessly destroyed many 
compositions which reflected high credit on native genius, and frag- 
ments which have been preserved reveal a degree of thought and 
philosophical reflection totally at variance with all our ideas of 
barbarism. Their knowledge of mathematics was considerable ; their 
legal maxims were approved at Salamanca ; their calendar, according to 
Laplace, was the most accurate then in existence. As to their morality, 
it is described as highly honourable to them. Women were treated 
with respectful consideration. A part of the people were indeed slaves, 
but the slavery was not hereditary, was mild in its form, and does 
not seem to have brutalised either bondsman or owner. 

In matters of religion the Aztecs were idolatrous, and their sacred 
rites were sanguinary. "The lofty pyramids, on the summits of which 
the images of their gods were raised, were often the altars of human 
sacrifices, and on stated occasions the flesh of the victims was dis- 
tributed among the worshipping crowds who assisted at the hideous 
spectacle. Every summer hundreds of hapless captives were immolated 
at the shrine of Mexitli, the Aztec god of war and battles, and the 
' new fire of Tezcatlipoca ' — so the rising sun was denominated at 
certain regular periods of the year — was welcomed by the priests in the 
temples with the blood of the fairest youth of the vanquished. There 
were other festivals equally terrible when the fires that blazed from the 
stones of sacrifice were dark with the smoke of slaughtered men, and 
Avhen — emblem of human destiny — a figure clad in gorgeous apparel 
ascended slowly the pyramid of death, and was there killed in the sight 

of the people Idolatry and a distorted notion that the 

powers of the invisible world must be propitiated with human blood 
have been found existing in other races with much intellectual and 
moral advancement, and the ideas of expiation and redemption are the 
most sublime of the Christian mysteries. Moreover, the hideous rites 
of the Aztecs were mingled with others of singular beauty, not unlike 
those of the ancient Greeks, and even these rites were the degraded 
types of a faith in many respects remarkable, for the Aztecs believed in 



13G THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

a future state, in the existence of an unknown God of which their 
idols were only the signs, and in something like moral government ; and 
with them, as with many other nations, a revolting exterior ceremonial 
was only the symbol of an internal creed which contained much of truth 
and purity." 

M. Chevalier, to whose interesting work on Mexico we are indebted 
for many of these particulars, may possibly have somewhat exaggerated 
the lofty civilisation of the Aztecs, but that they were a great people 
far removed from barbarism there can be no question. In describing 
the conquest of the country, M. Chevalier dwells too much on the 
religious enthusiasm of the Spaniards, and too little on their greed for 
gold. It was cupidity carried them to Mexico, and not Christian zeal. 

From 1520 to 1810 Spain was dominant in Mexico. Gradually the 
boundaries of the empire were extended, until not only the Aztec 
country but the neighbouring provinces of Texas and California were 
included in the Spanish colony. At the capital a Spanish viceroy held 
sway, and reproduced in his viceregal court, all the pride, the jealousy, 
the craft, and cunning of the court of Madrid. Mexico, in superstition 
and haughty defiance of others, became a little Spain, with this 
difference, that it was made to suffer many distressing fiscal regula- 
tions, which hampered its commerce and restricted its trade. As to the 
viceroys sent by Spain to govern Mexico, they were for the most part 
those needy Lidalgoes who were sorely in want of money, and by no 
means very particular as to the means by which it was to be obtained ; 
they were bent on enriching themselves, and not on dispensing justice 
or advancing the condition of the people over whom they ruled. All 
offices of trust were conferred on Spaniards ; all the highest dignities 
of the Church were held by Spaniards ; enormous wealth was granted 
to the ecclesiastical establishments ; the revenues of the temporal state 
were excessive. Mexico and the Mexicans were made to yield up their 
gold, and, misgoverned in all ways, to sink into a miserable state of 
weakness — all their industry subjected to a governing board that sat 
at Cadiz ! 

Mexico was called the jewel of the Spanish colonies, but the 
Spaniards valued it only for the money it was worth. They were 
shortsighted in their cupidity also, and permitted the country to sink 
in the scale of civilisation, to languish into decay. Oppression is said 
to make a wise man mad, but with an apathetic people it will often 
happen that oppression simply degrades them ; they lose heart, they 



I 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 137 

submit, they die, " and make no sign." " The vanquished Aztecs were 
mere Helots; at first to a great extent enslaved, then given liberty 
only to know that they were a subject and degraded race, deprived of 




Bocial and political rights, and kept in a state of perpetual degradation. 
They were called ' the people without reason ;' forbidden all intercourse 
with their conquerors ; set apart in village communities for taxation- 



138 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

and debarred from acquiring knowledge or becoming of any civil 
importance." Kept down, ill governed, controlled by tyranny, igno- 
rance, and superstition, they sank lower and still lojver. 

But while the moral and intellectual condition of the people became 
worse, while they were reduced by the tyranny of the mother coimtry 
to complete political inaction, they increased in material prosperity. 
And gradually there crept in seeds of sedition against Old Spain. 
When America, in the English colonies, began to assert herself — when 
she would have no more of British despotism, and flung taxed tea into 
Boston harbour — when she seized on the tune of "Yankee Doodle" and 
made it her own, and let the Britishers know that King George was 
not paramount — the Spanish settlements began to wonder why they 
should care more for Madrid than did the Anglo-Saxon race for 
London, They sympathised with the creed of liberty. When it came 
to pass that Paris rose up, and all France with her, and proclaimed 
liberty to the captive, and made all Caesar's household look through 
the little window and drop their heads into Sanson's basket — then the 
Spanish settlements in Central America were stirred, and by-and-by 
,they raised the standard of independence. Their allegiance to Old 
Spain, however, was not disowned until the dethronement of 
Charles IV., the audacious usurpation of Napoleon, and the troubles 
that ensued in the Peninsula. "Then followed," says a writer in the 
Quarterly Review^ " a long and sanguinary contest between the mother 
country and the dependency, in which frightful crimes were committed 
on either side by the impassioned combatants, and in which the pride 
and cruelty of domination, and the cunning and savageness of a 
subject race, displayed themselves in a series of atrocities. We need 
not dwell on the ruthless acts of the commanders of the Spanish 
Cortes, or the viceroys of the inhuman Ferdinand, or on the barbarities 
of Hidalgo and Morellos, and other chiefs of the war of liberation. 
Nor is it necessary to review the incidents of the short yet promising 
reign of Iturbide — ^an adventurer of moderation and ability, who com- 
posed for a time the contending parties and reduced Mexico to a 
monarchy, yet soon lost his precarious authority. In 1823, after 
passing through a long trial of civil war and national suffering, the 
Mexicans were declared independent, and, though not without 
monarchical sympathies, proclaimed their government a republic, after 
the pattern of the United States." 

Under the Commonwealth, M. Chevalier tells us, Mexico was in a 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 139 

deplorable anarchy, accompanied with the usual melancholy results — a 
want of security for persons and property, the engagements of the state 
repudiated, industrial energy languishing or dead, the high roads tra- 
versed regularly by brigands, the moral character of the nation degraded,, 
education neglected even in its few establishments, and hideous cor- 
ruption in the administration of justice. One can hardly believe how 
many individuals were presidents during the last six years, succeeding 
each other by revolutions, whUe public opinion had become hopeless 
and prostrated among the more respectable citizens. 

There is scarcely matter of surprise in this. Three centuries of 
bondage are ill calculated to constitute a free people. Unused to the 
exercise of liberty, they naturally enough fall into licence. What can 
those know of constitutional freedom who have been brought up in 
tyranny and superstition? What could have been expected from the 
masses of the serf -like, outlawed and degraded Aztecs? The re- 
publican government, unsustained by a moderate and enlightened 
nation, degenerated into a struggle of factions, led on by reckless and 
profligate adventurers, who, as each acquired a temporary ascendency, 
had a brief reign of terror and selfishness, in which a few partisans 
were aggrandised, and the general interests were neglected or sacri- 
ficed. "PubKc spirit, order, the sense of security, regard for justice 
and private right — all that makes a commonwealth great and thriving 
— could not exist in this state of things, which reminds us of the 
wretched anarchy of the great republics in their decline, and led to the 
same inevitable consequences — revolutions, fitful convulsions in the 
state, a general want of confidence in it, a decline in all the sources of 
its strength, the decay of its material prosperity, and symptoms of its 
approaching dissolution." 

When this season of conflict came to an end the condition of Mexico* 
was, in point of fact, worse than when it was held in bondage as a 
Spanish dependency. The United States had appropriated both Cali- 
fornia and Texas. The Yankees had entered the city of Mexico in triumph^ 
and had dictated terms of submission. There were brigands on all the 
roads levelling black mail, of whom the feeble government could in 
no wise rid itself ; flocks and herds were carried oif as in the days of 
the old Border warfare, when the Scots "lifted" English cattle or 
made a Douglas' larder of some strong place. The communications 
throughout the country were dangerous and almost impassable. Agri- 
culture had declined considerably ; the maize fields of the Tierra Tem- 



140 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

plada, the magnificent corn lands of tlie Tierra Fria, and the cotton 
plantations of Anahuac, were in many places waste and desolate. The 
towns exhibited similar signs of decay, " the public buildings of the 
capital were ruinous ; the streets had no longer the look of opulence ; 
and a rotting navy in choked-up ports attested the state of Mexican 
commerce." As to the population, that had very considerably de- 
creased ; there were hardly any immigrants from Spain, or, indeed, from 
any part of the world ; and in consequence of the condition of the 
country the native races were not increasing. 

Had there been no internecine war in the United States, had "Wash- 
ington's great work stood firm and fast, it is probable that Mexico 
might have lapsed into the Union. But the all-annexing American 
Republic, split into twain, shattered by hostility, impoverished by gun- 
powder charges, has been unable to command, or even to give sisterly 
embrace, and so Mexico has to stand alone. M. Chevalier truly 
remarks there is perhaps no region in this world, not even Constanti- 
no]Ae or Egypt, which has been more plainly designated by Nature as 
a seat of opulence and civilisation than Mexico. "A peninsula 
dividing the Atlantic and Pacific by a fertile yet narrow neck of land 
that abounds in every kind of product, and possesses harbours in either 
ocean, the position of Mexico should make it an entrepot for the com- 
merce of Europe and Eastern Asia, an emporium for a magnificent 
traffic, a stage and a highway for the exchange of two worlds." 

The extraordinary fertility of Mexico and the abundance of its 
mineral products should tend to assure its greatness. There are three 
great divisions of Mexico which have received their names from the 
Spaniards long ago ; and these again have been infinitely subdivided 
with reference either to differences of levels or to a diversity in their 
products. The first of these zones is the Land of Heat (Tierra Ca- 
liente), a belt of seaboard that stretches some way up the inclined 
plane leading to the table-land above. Here vegetation is exceedingly 
rich, on account of the warmth of the temperature, and the number of 
streams diffusing their waters. It is most exuberant on the east part 
of the seaboard, for the prevailing trade wdnds blow on the coast, 
bringing with them their moisture drawn from the ocean. This zone is 
famous for its tropical productions. Unfortunately, at many points, 
especially near the harbours on the Atlantic, it is desolated by the yellow 
fever, whose deadly focus is the neighbouring marshes, which, however, 
industry will yet drain, with the aid of the powerful appliances of our 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 141 

day. Higher, half-way up the inclined j)lane, extends the zone of the 
Temperate Land (Tierra Templada), its mean temperature being from 
eighteen to twenty degrees (French). Here the thermometer expe- 
riences but few variations and the season is like a continual spring. 
This is a delicious region ; its most perfect type will be found in the 
neighbourhood of the town of Xalapa, and also near those of Orizaba 
and Chilpancingo, the place of assembly of the First Congress. Its 
vegetation is nearly as abundant and vigorous as that of the seaboard ; 
but the air is not torrid, or impregnated with the miasma that exhales 
from the Tierra Caliente. It is free also from the myriads of insects of 
a venomous or disagreeable kind which are found in swarms in the 
lower region, to the great discomfort of the inhabitants. Here the pure 
air of the uplands is breathed without any of that occasional keenness 
that is dangerous to persons with weak chests ; and it is, so to speak, a 
territorial paradise in places where, as at Xalapa, there is an abundance 
of pure water, or where it is supplied at all seasons from the eternal 
glaciers of the mountains — the Peak of Orizaba and the Heights of 
Perote. Above the temperate zone extends the Land of Cold (Tierra 
Fria), so named by colonists from Andalusia, who felt the climate in 
parts of it somewhat resembling that of the Castiles ; but to French, 
German, or English immigrants its cold would appear of the mildest 
character. The mean temperature of the capital, and of the greater 
part of this region, is not less than seventeen degrees (French) ; it is 
only a little lower than that of Naples and Sicily, and is that of Paris 
for three months of the summer. There, as in other parts of the 
tropics, the variations of heat are much less than in the most temperate 
parts of Europe. In the season which can be called winter only by 
stretching the analogy of the terms of our dictionaries, the mean heat 
of the day at Mexico is from thirteen to fourteen degrees (French), and 
in summer the thermometer in the shade does not rise above twenty- 
six. 

The fertility of the Mexican soil is very remunerative, and it 
abounds in all kinds of vegetable wealth. There is an immense variety, 
from the wheat of Europe to the cotton of the tropics. M. Chevalier 
says — 

"The traveller who ascends or descends the plateau, meets strange 
and exquisite contrasts of Nature, and contemplates every kind of culti- 
vation and products, which seem to blend with each other, though else- 
where never seen together. If he starts from the summit of the table- 



142 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

land, he traverses sometimes forests of pines that remind him of those 
of the North of Europe, and sometimes inclosures of olives or vines, 
or fields golden with maize or wheat, with spaces between, over- 
shadowed with cactus — whose sad vegetation loves the dry land — or 
with the wild or reclaimed aloe. As he descends, he meets repeatedly 
the orange-tree, introduced and multiplied by the Spaniards ; the 
cotton-plant, indigenous to the soil, for the Aztecs wove the fibre into 
clothes, and even made an armour of it ; that kind of cactus which 
bears cochineal, and dates also from the Aztec period ; the silk-plant, 
growing in many varieties ; the banana, valuable as the food of the 
poor ; the sugar-cane, coffee, and indigo plants, importations which 
have thriven admirably ; and the vanilla and the cocoa tree, each native 
growths, for chocolate and vanilla were served by Montezuma to Cortes. 
And as he reaches the lowest levels he finds himself among that mag- 
nificent exuberance of fruits and bright aromatic plants which the 
tropic sun can alone mature, and the culture of which is of special 
interest." 

With regard to the mineral wealth of the country we are told that 
-if Mexico has a fertile surface that affords the greatest capabilities to 
the agriculturist, she hides the richest treasures in her bosom. The 
country abounds in mines of silver, and yields also a great deal of gold, 
extracted from the former metal. Two regions, however, California 
and Australia, have surpassed Mexico for some years past in the 
production of the precious metals. But Mexico, up to 1848, was the 
first country in the world for this wealth, and the amount of silver and 
gold she exported exceeded that of the entire of America. And if she 
has lost her pre-eminence in this respect, it is the fault of man, and not 
of Nature. Her mines are, for the most part, placed in situations that 
are not injurious to life or health, unlike those of her rival, Peru, that 
are in a region of intense cold, caused by the eternal snows of the 
Andes. This single circumstance secures to the mines of Mexico a 
considerable advantage when they shall have been properly worked 
and developed. 

There is one peculiar advantage which Mexico appears to enjoy, 
and that is comparative freedom from the desolating effects of earth- 
quakes and volcanoes. All who are at all intimate with the physical 
geography of Southern and Central America must know the disastrous 
-effects of volcanic action throughout the region of the Andes. 
M. Chevalier says — 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. US 

*'Ajiotlier superiority of Mexico over a portion of the equinoctial 
regions of America is tlie small number of its volcanoes, and the 
absence of those tremendous earthquakes which elsewhere have laid 
cities in ruins. In the whole of the peninsula a hundred years ago 
there were only four volcanoes active ; the Peak of Orizaba, which for 
three centuries has had no remarkable eruption ; Popocatepetl, 
constantly smoking, but not in a great degree, and hitherto innocuous 
to the neighbourhood ; the hill of Tustla, and the volcano of Colima, 
that appear never to have done any mischief. In September, 1759, a 
new volcano — that of IruUo — made its appearance, under circumstances 
of a terrifying kind. It is still alive, and around its base a number of 
little cones have sprung up that have not ceased to smoke occasionally. 
None of the Mexican cities have experienced those earthquakes of 
that portentous and fatal character which have desolated, and even 
sometimes overthrown, Guatemala, Lima, Caraccas, and other centres 
of population in Central and South America. In some of them, 
however, shocks have been felt, and this has been the case with 
Mexico ; but these shocks have been so faint that they have not given 
uneasiness to the inhabitants. They have not prevented the erection 
of houses to the height even of three stories, though they have 
compelled the Mexican architects to lay their foundations deep and 
soHd, and to avoid a slender and lofty style, like that of our Gothic 
cathedrals. The beautiful edifice of the Mineria at Mexico, whose 
airy columns were a model of elegance, soon showed symptoms of 
decay and ruin. In the capital the houses do not always seem upright 
at their angles ; where streets cross you sometimes see a slight bend in 
the buildings as you look upwards, but this is all that has ever been 
caused by these mild and inoffensive perturbations." 

From all this we may gather that Mexico is well fitted to be the 
seat of a noble civilisation. Nature has scattered her stores in rich 
profusion^ on the earth bloom all the flowers of paradise, and below 
lay the golden stores, the auriferous treasures which have lifted men to 
the highest or cast them to the depths. As to the people, they are of 
an extremely mixed character, comprising about 68,000 Creoles, or 
descendants of Spaniards ; 28,000 Mestizos, or half-castes between 
Europeans and Indians, but many of whom are scarcely distinguishable 
by colour from the former; about 35,000 copper-coloured natives, 
lOyOOO mulattoes, and 6,000 Europeans. This refers to the city of 
MexicOr Latrobe tells us that the lower orders of the population are 



144 THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

filthy, despise labour of every kind, and are constantly seen lying in 
the church porches, leaning against the walls, and loitering about 
the markets. In many respects they bear a striking resemblance to 
the lazzaroni of Naples ; but the lazzaroni are not stained with the 
crimes of robbery and murder, for which the lazzaroni of Mexico are 
disgracefully notorious. The higher classes much resemble the " upper 
ten " of Spain. Of the Mexican women Frances Erskine says — 

"You ask me how Mexican women are educated. In answering 
you, I must put aside a few brilliant exceptions and speak en masse — the 
most difficult thing in the world, for these exceptions are always rising 
up before me like accusing angels, and I begin to think of individuals 
when I should keep to generalities. Generally speaking, then, the 
Mexican senoras and senoritas write, read, and play a little, sew, and 
take care of their houses and children. When I say they read, I mean 
they know how to read ; when I say they write, I do not mean they can 
always spell ; and when I say they play, I do not assert that they have 
generally a knowledge of music. If we compare their education with 
that of the girls of the United States, it is not a comparison but a 
contrast. Compare it with that of Spanish women, and we shall 
be less severe upon their /a^nean^e descendants. In the first place, the 
climate inclines every one to indolence, both physically and moraUy. 
One cannot pore over a book when the blue sky is constantly smiling in 
at the open window ; then out of doors, after ten o'clock, the sun gives 
us due warning of our tropical latitude, and even though the breeze is 
so fresh and pleasant, one has no inclination to ride or walk far. 
Whatever be the cause, I am convinced it is impossible to take the same 
exercise with the mind or with the body in this country as in Europe or 
in the Northern States. Then, as to schools, there are none that deserve 
the name, and no governesses. Young girls can have no emulation, for 
they never meet. They have no public diversions and no private amuse- 
ments. There are a few good foreign masters, most of whom have 
come to Mexico for the purpose of making their fortune by teaching or 
marriage, or both, and whose object naturally is to make the most 
money in the shortest possible time, that they may return home to 
enjoy it. The children generally appear to have an extraordinary 
disposition for music and dancing, yet there are few girls who are 
proficients in either. 

" When very young they occasionally attend the schools, where 
boys and girls learn to read in common, or any other accomplishments 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



145 



that the old women can teach them ; but at twelve they are already 
considered too old to attend those promiscuous assemblages, and 
masters are got in for drawing and music to finish their education. I 




MEXICAN WOMAN OF THE LABOUBING CLASS. 

asked a lady the other day if her daughter went to school. ' Good 
heavens !' said she, quite shocked, ' she is past eleven years old !' It 
frequently happens that the least well-informed girls are the children 
of the cleverest men, who, keeping to the customs of their forefathers, 

L 



146 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

are content if they confess regularly, attend cliurcli constantly, and can 
embroider and sing a little. Where there are more extended ideas, it 
is chiefly amongst families who have travelled in Europe, and have seen 
the different education of women in foreign countries. Of these the 
fathers occasionally devote a short portion of their time to the 
instruction of their daughters, perhaps during their leisure evening: 
moments, but it may easily be supposed that this desultory system has. 
little real influence on the minds of the children. I do not think 
there are above half-a-dozen married women, or as many girls above 
the age of fourteen, who, with the exception of the mass-book, readi 
any one book through in the whole course of the year. They thus 
greatly simplify the system of education in the United States, where 
parties are frequently divided between the advocates for solid learning 
and those for superficial accomplishments, and according to whom it is 
diJB5cult to amalgamate the solid beef of science with the smart sauce of 
les heaux arts. 

" But if a Mexican girl be ignorant, she rarely shows it. They have 
generally the greatest possible tact, never by any chance wandering out 
of their depth or betraying by a word or sign that they are not well 
informed on the subject under discussion. Though seldom graceful^ 
they are never awkward, and always self-possessed. They have plenty 
of natural talent, and where it has been strongly cultivated, no women 
can surpass them. But they love indolence. Said a beggar-woman to 
my English maid, 'Ah, if you only knew the pleasure of doing 
nothing 1' " 

As the population is increasing but slowly, M. Chevalier is of 
opinion that the industrial wants of the country might be met by an 
importation of Coolies, while its higher orders, he trusts, would receive 
an accession from European immigration. He says — "A civilised 
government that wished to attract a large number of Coolies to Mexico 
would succeed without the slightest difficulty. It would be enough to 
treat them with common justice, and to abstain from the outrages and 
injustices inflicted on them by the colonists of California and Australia, 
In these countries the Chinese race has been subject to exactions and 
other bad treatment ; for instance, they are constantly threatened with 
expatriation. Nevertheless, they remain in considerable numbers. If 
such a race knew that a country existed where they would receive pro- 
tection as well as the white man, there would be no need of funds to 
send for them ; they would hasten." M. Chevalier wrote just at the 



THE GOLDEK AMEHICAS. 147 

time of the French intervention in Mexican affairs, and the late 
Emperor Maximilian was being elevated to the throne. 

The career of Maximilian and its unhappy end need not be dwelt 
upon at any length here, but from some of the works published in 
connection with the short reign of the ill-fated monarch we may 
glean many particulars illustrative of Mexican scenery and of Mexican 
life. The Countess Paul Kollonitz has given a very interesting 
account of the Court of Mexico. Her narrative is exceedingly graphic, 
and to her we are indebted for the following particulars of the landing 
at Vera Cruz : — 

" It would appear scarcely possible to land in the New World at a 
spot whose appearance is so little adapted to content the impatient 
expectation with which one draws near to a strange quarter of the 
globe, as is the case at Yera Cruz. The coast is flat and sandy, without 
vegetation. The roofless white houses of the town, which are built in 
straight rows, and form broad, uniform streets, give to the whole the 
appearance of a large cemetery. 

" La Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, founded by Cortes, is one of the 
most unhealthy spots in the world. During eight months every year 
the yellow fever rages and diminishes the number of Europeans who 
have been attracted to it by the interests of trade, and also of those 
Mexicans who, having been born in the higher part of the country, are 
obliged to pass some time in the dreaded port. The dangerous miasmas 
of the town are quite harmless to the real inhabitants. The causes of 
the peculiarly raging character of the disease are to be attributed in 
part to the high sand-downs which hinder the free current of air, and 
in part to the morasses which surround the town, and which exhale 
noisome vapours from the decaying animal and vegetable stufP, or to the 
bad drinking-water and the excessive heat that prevails in Vera Cruz. 

" The wreck of a stranded French vessel upon a coral reef close by 
helped to engrave the melancholy appearance of the place still more 
deeply upon our memory. 

" Westwards, upon the island Sacrificio, the French fleet had chosen 
its anchorage. In front, upon the coast of the mainland, are the 
distant graves of many thousands of French soldiers, who had landed 
here at the commencement of the expedition, under the command of 
the able Admiral Jurien de la Graviere, and who had fallen victims to 
the epidemic. Their countrymen have named this place with sad 
humour ' Le Jardin d'Acclimatation.' 



148 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

"The Themis had gone on in adyance, and had announced our 
arrival ; yet all v/as silent as the grave. There was no motion in the 
harbour, and none upon the coast. The new ruler of Mexico stood in 
sight of his kingdom, and was on the point of landing, but his subjects 
remained in concealment ; no one came to receive him. 

"An uncomfortable feeling stole over us all, but the emperor 
maintained a sarcastic tranquillity. It seemed as if he endeavoured to 
turn his tolerably cutting satire against himself. 

" The atmosphere was, from every point of view, oppressive ; the 
situation cleared up at length. General Almonte, who had held the 
reins of government until the arrival of the emperor, and during the 
negotiations as to the acceptance of the throne, was awaiting at 
Orizaba news of the landing, since the dread of the yellow fever kept 
him and his suite as long as possible away from Vera Cruz. From 
Orizaba to the port is, however, a good day's journey, and therefore he 
had not yet arrived. 

" Vera Cruz itself was by no means favourable to the new position 
of affairs. Of its 8,000 inhabitants most are foreigners, who, connected 
with the large business houses of the capital, had profited by the 
disorders to enrich themselves by smuggling and evasion of the laws. 
Every firm and resolute government was odious to them. The prefect 
of the town, together with the ayuntamiento (the municipality) of the 
town, had gone in great perplexity to meet General Almonte. After a 
considerable period the commander of the French fleet, rear-admiral 
Bosse, appeared on the scene, with his aide, both of them apparently 
in very bad humour because the emperor had not anchored in the midst 
of the French fleet, according to their desire. The Rear-Admiral 
stepped on board with an unparalleled want of consideration and 
propriety, and gave vent to his anger ; whilst he set before us, in sharp 
colours, aU the dangers and disagreeables to which we were exposed by 
remaining where we were. Above all, he maintained that we had 
anchored in the most contagious spot, that to remain through the night 
here would be dangerous ; he quoted the cases in which sailors and 
passengers had in a single night fallen victims to the vomiting-sickness ; 
and then he spoke of the dangers to which our journey to Mexico 
would be exposed, that bands had been formed to take captive the 
imperial pair, and that General Bazaine had not time enough at his 
disposal to look after our safety, &c. He continued to speak for some 
time in this tone. This was the first, but, alas ! not the last, example 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 149 

that we had of French arrogance in Mexico. At length, towards 
evening, came Almonte, General Sala, and all the notables of Vera 
Cruz. Almonte, who is the son of the priest Morellos, so celebrated in 



HEXICAX AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. 



the war of independence, and of an Indian woman who gave birth to 
him in the mountains (cd monte), made a very favourable impression 
upon us. On his bronzed but handsome countenance there was an 
expression of goodness and friendliness, and his conduct was simple. 



150 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

but polite and refined. Our greeting was a shake of the hand, for 
such is the commencement of every acquaintance in Mexico, though it 
appeared to us, naturally, at first, more trusty and familiar than it is 
intended to be. 

"With the approach of night, salutes were fired from Fort San 
Juan de Ulloa ; the town of Vera Cruz was illuminated with Bengal 
lights, and the French fleet hung lanterns to every mast, and fired off 
rockets. 

" We none of us could sleep, the expectation and excitement were 
too great. At half -past four mass was read on the middle deck, and at 
five we rowed off to the Mole, where we disembarked. The nearer we 
approached the town, the more distinct became the mephitic odour, the 
distinguishing feature of Vera Cruz. The yellow fever had broken out 
but a short time before in consequence of the festival of the Corpus 
Christi, which had been celebrated under a burning sun. For this 
reason we found no sojourn in the town had been proposed." 

Vera Cruz was founded towards the end of the sixteenth century 
on the spot where Cortes landed. It received the title and privilege of 
a city from Philip III. in 1615. The castle of St. Juan de Ulloa, which 
commands the town, is built on the small island of the same name about 
400 fathoms from the shore. It is a strong citadel, and its north- 
western angle supports a lighthouse, with a brilliant revolving light 
about seventy-nine feet above the sea. The harbour of Vera Cruz is 
a mere roadstead between the town and castle, and is exceedingly 
insecure. 

Notwithstanding, however, its numerous disadvantages, Vera 
Cruz maintains its commercial importance. The precious metals, 
cochineal, sugar, flour, indigo, provisions, are the principal articles of 
exportation. During the period that the foreign trade of Mexico was 
carried on exclusively by the y?oia which sailed periodically from Cadiz, 
Vera Cruz was celebrated for its fair held on the arrival of the ships. 
It was then crowded with dealers from Mexico and most parts of 
Spanish America, but the abolition of the system of regular fleets, in 
1778, proved fatal to the fair, as well as the still more celebrated fair 
of Portobello. 

In resuming the narrative of the Countess Kollonitz we find that as 
soon as they trod upon Mexican soil the services of the Austrian Court, 
which had up to that moment provided the honours due to the arch- 
ducal pair, were at an end. Says the countess — 



THE GOLDEN AMERIGxVS. 151 

" It was here that Mexican ladies were to undertake our duties, but 
we looked for them in vain. The dread of yellow fever had deterred 
them even from the reception of their new rulers. The populace of 
Vera Cruz was badly represented, and was content with a few triumphal 
arches and the banging of the customary petards. 

" The reception was excessively chilling. Their majesties drove, 
under the escort of the French and Mexican military and civil autho- 
rities, to the ' Plaza,' where the cars waited for them. The word 
•^ station' is not in the dictionary here. The cars are comfortable for a 
short distance, and built with a view to business ; the seats are of 
plaited straw, and the blinds Venetian, so that there is a free passage 
for currents of air. The line was itself laid rapidly by the French, with 
a view to bringing the troops as quickly as possible out of the reach of 
the dangerous pestilence. But the fastidious European feels but little 
confidence in it. The luxury of signalmen is quite unknown, and would 
be, under the circumstances, almost impossible. The line makes its 
ivay over marsh and desert, where one only sees stunted and scorched 
bushes and a few cactus-plants. 

*' We travelled on in this way for an hour as far as Soledad, a 
small, lonely place, where a wooden building had been erected and 
decorated in haste, and a sumptuous breakfast prepared. A band of 
music played ; a great multitude had assembled. According to Mexican 
custom, a great deal of time was wasted here, and it was almost midday 
when we again continued our journey. There could be no doubt that 
the district in which we were was the ' Tierra Caliente,' or torrid zone. 

' ' The train took us on an hour further to Somalto, and here the 
■delights of Mexican railways ended. We left the cars to get into the 
carriages which were in readiness for us, and then separated into two 
parties. 

" Their majesties wished to travel to the capital by smaller journeys 
and with longer halts by the way ; but the whole company consisting 
of eighty-five persons, with more than five hundred pieces of luggage, 
it was not possible to find sufiicient accommodation and entertainment 
unless a separation took place. The two high chamberlains and myself, 
with some of the gentlemen who intended to take up their permanent 
abode in the country, and the servants and their families, amongst 
whom were seven little children, went on first. We stood for a long 
time upon the open heath, till the various owners had found their 
goods. At last we got into our vehicles. Their majesties had an 



152 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

English travelling-carriage, which proved the solidity of its build by 
arriving at Mexico without any damage. My companion and I occupied 
a comfortable phaeton, while all the rest were packed into high covered 
diligences, which were intended to hold twelve or fifteen people. Each 
of these was drawn by eight mules, two in front, then four harnessed 
together, and then two more. "We very soon quitted the plains, and 
with them the region of yellow fever. 

" The range, which we had long seen in the distance, drew nearer 
and nearer, vegetation became more and more luxurious, and at last 
we approached Chiquihuiti, a high mountain clothed in all the charms 
of tropical magnificence. Again we saw trees garlanded by twining 
creepers ; again flowers of every hue were scattered over hill and 
valley. We particularly noticed the deep blue or purple convolvuli, of 
unusual size, which wound round every stem and up the highest 
branches. Great butterflies, orange -coloured shot with a lovely blue, 
darted about as if holding high holiday. We saw but few birds, and 
very pretty ones. 

" It was the beginning of the rainy season. The clouds gathered and 
hid the sun, and, to our sorrow, often veiled the mountains, so that we did 
not see much of Orizaba, a peak of 17,000 feet high, nor of the famous 
Star Mountain, the Citlatepete of the Aztecs. The heat became more 
bearable as we approached the ' Tierra Templada,' or temperate zone, 
which extends almost to the plateau of Anahuac, the elevated plain 
upon which Mexico is built. This plain belongs to the ' Tierra Fria,* 
or frigid zone, notwithstanding the peculiar mildness of its climate. 

" The territory through which we were travelling is almost unin- 
habited ; now and then we came upon solitary huts built with reeds 
and covered with palm or maguey leaves. Then sallow Indians, with 
deer-like eyes, peeped inquisitively out, the men sometimes nursing 
their little children in their arms, the women holding fowls in their 
laps, which they caressed. Their terrible poverty, and, withal, their 
patience, awoke a feeling of. sad sympathy. They seem to have few 
wants, to be nearly destitute of clothing, still more so of cleanliness ; 
yet they are fond of flowers, which they plant round their dwellings. 
Great bushes of Datura shade their huts and shed far and wide the 
fragrance of their rich flowers. 

"Nothing is cultivated ; all is wild primeval forest; Nature rules 
with unbounded sway. We crossed over many mountain torrents 
rushing downwards between rocky defiles ; everywhere there are deep 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



153 



ravines and precipices, which we dared not look over, with steep walls, 
rendered still more inaccessible by thick bushes and creepers. These 
ravines are called " barancas," and play an important and dangerous 
part in the guerilla warfare of this country. 

*'At Palo del Macho we found dinner ready in an edifice hastily 




constructed of green wood and prettily decorated. The honours were 
done by the Prefect of Cordova, Senor Mendosa, the brother of the 
Count del Valle de Orizaba, with whom we afterwards became so well 
acquainted. 

"The diligence and post communication between Vera Cruz and 



154 THE GOLDEN AlVIERICAS. 

Mexico is very well and regularly arranged. At intervals of two and 
three hours, and often in most unfrequented places, one finds a large 
stable, which is always connected with a pidqueria (a taproom). 
The Mexican, who does not know the value of time, uses every 
opportunity of this sort to be as long as possible on the road ; but on 
this occasion the want of mules was a real excuse, as all that could be 
mustered had been placed at the emperor's service. In spite of all the 
scolding and maledictions of our companion — Colonel Viscount de la 
Pierre, who had forced himself upon us at Soledad as our marshal, and 
who gradually proved himself a very disagreeable escort — hours were 
wasted in useless waiting. Orizaba had been assigned to us as our 
station for the first night ; but it became more and more impossible to 
^et farther than Cordova, which was very unpleasant to us, as the 
Imperial pair had chosen this town as their halting-place for the night, 
and so the whole cortege reassembled there, an inconvenience which 
should have been avoided. 

" The roads grew worse and worse, and no European can form an 
idea of them, nor of the hindrances that have to be overcome. They 
are often nothing but the dried-up beds of mountain torrents. One 
place is called ' Sal si puedes,' ' Get out if you can ;' and, indeed, it 
requires all the skill of a Mexican driver, and all the untiring energy of 
the spirited creatures, to perform this task. At first we were frightened, 
but it was impossible not to put confidence in the bold, resolute mule- 
driver. We often had animals who had never been in harness before. 
It was with extreme repugnance that they went through the pre- 
parations for their new work; but when once these were over, the 
<3oachman on his box, with his helpers, had them completely in his 
power. With sixteen reins and a long whip in his hand, he guides 
them without difficulty, shouts, whistles, and hisses ; while the mule-boy, 
who forces them to start by throwing stones at them, gets off the box 
perpetually to collect fresh stones, to examine the road, put the drag 
on, to set the harness to rights, without the pace being in the least 
slackened ; and then, seated again in his place by the coachman, he 
seizes the proper moment to bombard the lazy or restive mule with 
stones. This is the school through which he must pass to enable him 
by-and-by to occupy the first place on the box. A good diligence- 
driver is a very valuable person, and justly so. If he drives on the road 
l^etween Vera Cruz and Mexico, he earns 120 pesos per month — about 
250 florins of our money — has his expenses paid, and at the end of the 



I 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 155 

year, if lie has not had a single overturn, he may claim a reward of 250 
pesos — more than 500 florins. 

"In his undyed leather jacket, his hairy goatskin leggings (zapa- 
teros)^ and his broad-brimmed hat, the sombrero trimmed with gold, which 
serves equally as a protection from the rays of the sun or from torrents 
of rain, he is an original and picturesque figure. To add to all this, 
the ruler of our destiny maintained an immovable composure in spite of 
aU the outbursts oi wratli from the ominous Monsieur de la Pierre. 

"I was already struck by the politeness which prevails even among 
the lowest classes. The muleteers at the stations were always met by 
the coachmen with a shake of the hand, and spoken to as ' Senor.' 
Never did we hear a loud word, scolding, or abuse among these people ; 
they exhibit a gentleness and an indifference which would drive active, 
bustling Europeans to despair, ' Quien sabe f — ' Who knows ?' — is the 
common answer to all queries, petitions, or threats. 

"It had been quite dark for three hours, when we reached Cordova 
at ten o'clock at night. Here all was arranged for their Majesties to 
pass the night in a large house gaily decorated, and containing very fine 
rooms. But that eighty tired-out people should, in addition, claim a 
lodging had not been anticipated. 

"With great difficulty my friend and I found beds; and we were 
almost ashamed of this distinction, as the gentlemen and servants were 
obliged to pass the night, some in the carriages, some on chairs, or upon 
the stony pavements of the courts and stairs. It was vain to think of 
sleep ; music, shouting, and the banging of mortars went on through 
the whole night. At two o'clock the Imperial pair arrived ; speeches 
had to be heard and answered ; a supper had to be eaten, which seemed 
as if it would never come to an end ; and when at last it was over, there 
was not much time left for rest. 

" At half -past six in the morning we proceeded on our journey, and 
reached a very rich and cultivated neighbourhood, passing through most 
beautiful forests, near country houses and haciendas with fields of sugar- 
canes, maize, coffee, and cacao plants, through gardens full of orange, 
pomegranate, and other fruit trees. At this point of our journey we 
came to banana and palm trees, and even the road was in better con- 
dition. We everywhere came across preparations for the reception of 
the ' Emperadores.' Endless triumphal arches had been erected of the 
choicest flowers, and decked with gay flags and streamers ; every poor 
Indian had fastened to his hat some token of festivity. Here, where 



15G THE GOLDEN AJ^dERlCAS. 

the people can boastj of a regulated possession, and are well-to-do in 
the world, the longing for order is very great ; and hence the joy and 
thankfulness at the hope of an era of peace is warm and heartfelt. 

" At ten a.m. we reached Orizaba, which lies in a grand position 
in a narrow valley, and is inclosed by lofty mountains. The summit s 
of the highest are unfortunately covered with clouds as soon as the 
rainy season begins; and on this occasion the noble peak, which I 
learned later so heartily to admire, remained quite hidden. We were 
received with the greatest solemnity. Deputations came to meet up, 
and speeches were delivered, thanking us for having escorted the 
imperial pair ; petards were fired, &c. At tlie entrance of one house 
we were welcomed by a troop of ladies, and escorted into the decorated 
apartments prepared for the reception of their majesties. 

" The emperor's bed was of rose-coloured silk. A good luncheon was 
offered us with the greatest friendliness ; fortunately, one of the ladies 
was a Frenchwoman, and could act as interpreter in the exchange of 
courtesies. 

" Charmed with the beauties of the laud, and rejoicing in the hospi- 
tality which was everywhere displayed, Ave tried to express our grateful 
feelings, which seemed to surprise the Mexicans very much. In this 
respect, indeed, they had not been spoiled by the French, who favoured 
them with nothing but abuse and humiliations ; and though they 
appeared to bear all this with great meekness, yet bitterness and hatred 
rankled in their hearts. 

" We could not remain long in Orizaba, for we were to pass the 
night in Palmar. Our intention was opposed by all sorts of objections ; 
first on the part of the French, and then by Mexicans ; then it was 
impossible to procure mules ; and as our gentlemen sided with the 
objectors, it v>^as impossible to make head or tail of the affair, and it 
was not till we had absolutely started, and been overtaken by an escort 
of twenty men, that we learned that intelligence had arrived that the 
guerilla chief, Diaz, was lying in ambush with a part of his followers, 
in a hacienda through which we must pass, in the hopes of taking the 
emperor unawares. They had, therefore, delayed our journey until 
further news had arrived. The fact was indeed confirmed, but at the 
same time all necessary measures had been taken. We saw every- 
where bodies of troops, and the encampments of flying detachments ; 
but before we arrived at the dangerous hacienda we met the French 
general, Braincourt, who, with excessive politeness, came to meet our 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 157 

carriage to welcome us, and to assure us that we had no further cause 
of fear, for the guerillas had already dispersed. 

" All this had much delayed us. Night came on, and we could see 
no more of the fine scenery. We were climbing the Cordilleras, called 
here Cumbres, which extend from the Rocky Mountains to South 
America, through the Isthmus of Panama. 

*' We had left in Orizaba one carriage full of women and children ; 
the others were now drawn up the long and steep heights slowly and 
cautiously. Soldiers with torches sat upon the imperials of the dili- 
gences, and at our side the escort curbed in their horses, and listened 
anxiously to every sound. We saw, however, nothing but myriads of 
large fireflies, which swarmed in the bushes, and in the midst of the 
watch-fires of the scattered French encampment. It was bitterly cold 
after the excessive heat of the day before, so we buried ourselves in our 
plaids and our cloaks. 

" The next time that I passed over the Cumbres on my return 
journey, it was in full daylight; and when I saw the road which 
we had travelled over in pitch darkness, I could not help shuddering. 
It had, it is true, been constructed by the Spaniards skilfully, and on a 
magnificent scale ; but since their time it has fallen into a state of 
neglect, which would cause it in Europe to be regarded as quite 
impracticable. Deep clefts, masses of rocks, and stems of trees would 
appear to be almost impassable obstacles ; but Mexican drivers and 
their brave beasts hardly think anything of them. Prudence, skill, 
and endurance conquer all difficulties. 

"It was midnight by the time we had climbed the heights of the 
Cumbres de Delcorado ; we were all exhausted, and when we reached 
a small place. La Canada, we determined to make our halt there, as 
Palmar was still distant several hours' journey. The gentlemen 
entered the public-house, and encamped upon tables, chairs, and 
benches. We had our carriage shut up, and remained in it. A few 
days later, our host was attacked and murdered by the guerillas. 

"As soon as it began to dawn we set out again, and breakfasted at 
Palmar, an odious little place, which consists, like most of the villages 
in Mexico, of one large square, upon which a large cathedral -like 
church is built, encircled by tolerably high walls. The houses, nearly 
on a level with the ground, very low, and with flat roofs, look in con- 
sequence like great dice, and arc entirely without windows ; the only 
opening through which light and air penetrate to the interior is the 



158 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

door. The exterior walls are often painted with glaring colours, in 
smooth stripes, or arranged in squares. 

" Palmar was the theatre of one of the bloodiest battles which were 
fought during the course of the wars of independence. The priest 
Morellos opposed successfully in this spot the Spanish General Iturbide, 
the same who shortly afterwards turned the war to his own profit, 
using it as a ladder for his promotion to the Empire of Mexico. 

"The neighbourhood is ugly beyond expression; under a thin 
coating of sand a hard stratum of lava extends to a great distance, 
and testifies to the former devastations of the abundant volcanoes. 
Their force is, however, almost expended, though some few still emit 
clouds of hot vapour ; but earthquakes of frequent occurrence prevent 
one's forgetting the terrible power which is raging in the bosom of 
the earth, and oftentimes hurries towns, with their inhabitants, to 
destruction. 

" The only cultivated growth of the undulating plain is the maguey^ 
the large fields of which are surrounded by thick cactus-hedges. The 
maguey (Agava Americana), wrongly called aloe in our hothouses, rises 
often here to a height of seven or eight feet, and out of it is extracted 
the pulque, which is the Mexican's drink par excellence. 

" The maguey was much planted and highly prized formerly by the 
Aztecs ; for, besides the sap, out of which they prepared an intoxicating 
drink, they used the leaves to roof their house, made stuffs and ropes 
out of its fibres, ground them to pulp to make paper ; in short, the 
maguey supplied nearly all the necessities of the ordinary man. Now 
it has become a fertile source of wealth to many people. In its eighth 
or tenth year, before it begins to blossom, it forms a milk-white sap at 
the heart (corazon) ■ the heart is extracted, and a round hollow is 
scooped out, in which is collected all the sap, which would otherwise 
have been absorbed by the long flower-stems. During a period of from 
three to five months the Indian draws the juice daily from this well, 
and we were assured that a healthy plant will yield sixteen buckets of 
pulque in this space of time. After this it dies, but leaves behind, at 
the root, a quantity of sprouts, which, when planted, yield in their turn 
a rich produce. 

" The cactus, or nopal, upon which the cochineal worm is reared in 
some parts of the country, is a melancholy plant when one meets it in 
great masses, but it exhibits great variety in its blossoms, which are 
sometimes white, sometimes red or yellow. Some of the species rise 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 159 

straight to the height of ten or twelve feet, and with their forbidding 
prickles form a good protection for gardens, and are used as gigantic 
fences. 

"The giants Popocatepetl and Iztazzihecatl rose before us; they 
are between 1,600 and 1,800 feet high, and covered with perpetual 
snow ; their summits were almost always concealed by clouds. We had 
reached the plateau of Puebla, nearly 6,800 feet above the level of the 
sea, and situated in the most fruitful and best cultivated part of the 
country ; broad fields of corn and maize extended before our eyes, but 
everywhere we could perceive traces of the devastations which had 
been caused by the civil war ten years before, and by the siege of 
Puebla last year. Churches, haciendas, whole villages were in ruins^ 
and presented a most melancholy spectacle. 

"At length the town of Puebla de los Angeles lay before us, with 
its countless cupolas and church towers soaring above the roofless 
houses. As we drew near, we observed a great number of riders in the 
extraordinarily picturesque dress of the country. They were citizens 
from the town, who, on hearing the news of our arrival, had liastened 
to meet and escort us. They seemed to be one with their little swift 
horses, as if they had grown with them ; and the saddles and bridles 
were adorned with gold embroidery and bright silk tassels. In many 
cases the father and two little sons sat on one horse, or several boys 
sat behind one another, and rode merrily along ; the tout-ensemhle formed 
a lively, interesting picture." 

Puebla is about 125 miles distant from Vera Cruz. It was founded 
by the early Spanish settlers, and was formerly, and is still to a con- 
siderable extent, the hotbed of priests. When Bullock visited it, Puebla 
^ had no fewer than sixty-nine churches, nine monasteries, thirteen 
nunneries, and twenty-three colleges. He says of the churches they 
were the most perfect he had ever seen. Those of Milan, he teUs us, 
Genoa, and Rome are built in better taste, but in the interior 
decorations, the quantity and value of the ornaments of the altar, and 
in the richness of the vestments worn by the priests, they are far 
surpassed by the Puebla churches. 

A tolerably good trade was carried on in Puebla, and the manufac- 
tures of glass and earthenware kept up their reputation until the siege ; 
but, like Mexico, the city swarms with beggars. The countess says 
that as she approached the town it exhibited little more than ruins, 
and yet a year before it had made a gallant three months' resistance- 



160 THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 

Slie tells us that as they left the suburbs and reached the interior of the 
citv the impression was more favourable. To resume the narrative in 
the vrords of the countess — " We drove through broad, regular streets 
and great squares, past noble churches. Every street has a canal 
running through the middle of it, paved over with broad stones. This 
carries off the torrents which stream down in the rainy season. On 
both sides there are footways, and old descriptions speak of the pave- 
ment as excellent, an opinion which I cannot endorse. Battles in the 
streets and barricades may have produced a disagreeable change. 

" In spite of this, Puebla is a very attractive town, and its archi- 
tecture is far more beautiful and peculiar than that of Mexico ; it is 
kept cleaner, and bears fewer traces of fallen greatness than the 
metropolis, the splendour of which has suffered so much from revolu- 
tions and civil wars. The houses are higher, and look less squeezed 
together, and have not that universal, monotonous yellow hue which 
one notices in Mexico. The love of the Aztec race for warm, bright 
colours holds its own as yet here, and is often applied with much taste 
and artistic feeling. The house assigned to us was washed over with 
red, and faced with white and blue varnished tiles of porcelain — an 
original and pretty idea, which was repeated in many other houses in 
the town. 

"We were received here with great rejoicings; many ladies and 
gentlemen accompanied us up the broad staircase leading into a large, 
airy passage, supported by columns, which ran round the inner court, 
and was decked with orange-trees and flowers. From this we proceeded 
into carpeted rooms, furnished with every luxury and comfort which 
the most fastidious European could require. They were spacious and 
lofty, and had large windows reaching to the ground, and provided^ 
with balconies. 

" Our words of thanks, our exclamations of pleasure and astonish- 
ment, were always answered by those long speeches with which the 
Mexicans accompany their hospitality, and studied civility, and in 
which the famous phrase, 'a la disposicion de listed'' ('at your dis- 
posal '), plays the prominent part. And really they consider the 
guests whom tliey bring under their roof almost as the masters of the 
house. 

"The son of the prefect did the honours for us instead of his father, 
who had gone to meet the emperor, and when he had led us into the 
dining-room, where a long table awaited us, spread with an interminable 



THE GOLDEA^ AMERICAS. 



161 



supper, we observed that the rest of the company had remained behind 
in the drawing-room. A pause of confusion ensued, and at last the 
young Mexican stammered out that no one could take a place at this 
table who was not invited by us. Our invitation was conveyed to the 
rest of the party, who would not seat themselves till after endless 
mutual compliments. Among the ladies, a pretty, bright little woman, 
who was called Mrs. General, was the only one who understood a little 




MEXICAN POETEK. 



French ; among the gentlemen the knowledge of this language was 
rather more diffused, but still very limited. The difficulty of inter- 
course was increased by the fact that European ideas of politeness 
correspond in no way with those of the Mexican, and it always took a 
long time before our mutual efforts were understood. 

" For the same reason we sat looking at each other after supper for 
a long time before the company gave signs of departing. We had had 
three entirely sleepless nights, and three hot, weary days' journey, and 
were almost overcome by sleep and fatigue, yet we could not make up 

M 



162 THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 

our minds to make the move, owing to the lofty formality of our host. 
At last we came to an understanding, and the desired repose was 
granted us. Never shall I forget the delight with which, after nearly 
two months' deprivation, I found myself in a wide, comfortable^ 
stationary bed, in a cool, roomy apartment. I woke next morning 
agreeably refreshed, but soon learnt with sorrow that my companion 
was confined to bed by a serious indisposition. Her looks caused great 
anxiety to us at first, but this was happily removed before long ; her 
elastic nature quickly overcame the evil. Instead of one day we spent 
two in Puebla, and were able to proceed on our journey on the 3rd of 
June. 

" We had found much to interest us in this town, less perhaps a» 
regards the churches, which were over- decorated with treasures and 
gilding, than the observation of new and strange manners and customs ; 
the details are all so un-European that one cannot see and wonder 
sufl&ciently. My greatest pleasure here, as it was later on in Mexico, 
was to drive under the ' Portales,' the broad colonnades which surround 
the chief square, where Indians from all parts of the country offer 
native productions for sale, and where I always met with fresh and 
characteristic objects to gratify my desire for knowledge, or to exercise 
my powers of reflection. 

" The approaching arrival of the imperial pair had excited activity 
everywhere ; triumphal arches had been erected, churches and houses 
decorated, all sorts of preparations made. People were never tired of 
asking about the personal appearance or the mental qualities of their 
majesties. Everywhere a deep gratitude was expressed that out of 
lor© to Mgx^ico they had been willing to leave their home and family, 
to undertake the long voyage, and to rule over a land which had been 
thrown into the deepest confusion by a long series of misfortunes, by 
civil war, treachery, and covetousness ; whose inhabitants had lost all 
moral power — ^nay, more, every idea of morality, and who, with a truly 
painful humility, pronounced the verdict upon themselves, ' There are 
none here but rogues and thieves !' It is impossible at first sight to 
believe the truth of this, alas! well-established self-condemnatory 
verdict; for the stranger meets with such engaging and hearty 
cordiality, that he is disposed to be indignant at the injustice of the 
sentence. The character of the people is so devoid of strength and 
energy, and so incapable of resisting the slightest temptation or seduc- 
tion, that it has in consequence sunk to the deepest pitch of demora- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 163 

lisation, though it is not devoid of a certain tenderness and refine- 
ment that make at first a most favourable impression. People who have 
been accused of the most illegal public transactions, who have injured 
thousands by their treachery and cunning, who know of no right and 
of no law, you will find in the family circle to be the tenderest and 
fondest sons, husbands, fathers, or brothers. They overwhelm their 
relations with delicate attentions and benefits, and extend this gentle 
disposition to all who are connected with them by personal friendship. 

" Puebla, whose population is assessed at about 70,000, is ahead of 
Mexico, both as regards its numbers and the excellence of its educa- 
tional establishments ; and as to its activity, industrial or commercial, 
it would seem that its inhabitants are more active, intelligent, and 
morally less abased than those of the capital. There appeared also to 
me to be better regulations and less neglect. The town is surrounded 
with gardens, which supply the necessary fruits and vegetables ; and the 
prosperity appears to be far more universal than in Mexico, where the 
contrast between wealth and misery is very striking. 

" On the second day we caught sight of the fortress of Guadalupe, 
which commands the town, and from whence one gains a view over the 
plain, with its beautiful encircling mountains ; westwards the gigantic 
chain, from which rise the snowy summits of Popocatepetl and Iztazzi- 
huatt, eastwards the Sierra Madra, with the Peak of Orizaba and the 
Cofre de Perote, and between them the mountains of Malinche. It is, 
indeed, an imposing view, and its beauty is much heightened by the won- 
derfully clear atmosphere, which brings the distance nearer, and which 
lends a transparency to the mass overhead which we in Europe are wont 
to call sky, and which appears with us like a compact covering. This 
transparency, more than anything else, conveys to the senses an idea of 
the infinite. The eye finds no point on which to rest ; all is boundless, 
and the heart, too, rises in astonishment, admiration, and reverence. 

" In the afternoon we mounted to the terrace of our house, which 
in this country almost universally takes the place of a roof, from 
whence we could admire the mountains, which were cloudless — a rare 
spectacle at this period of the year. Unhappily, the communication 
between our dwelling and the terrace was very imperfect, and in 
springing from a considerable height I sprained my foot, a misliap 
which for a long while hindered my walking, and caused me a thousand 
disagreeables during our onward journey. Notwithstanding this, we 
left Puebla next day at eight o'clock in the morning." 



164: THE GOLDEN AI^iERICAS. 

Among the interesting remains of the Aztec people of Mexico is the 
famous pyramid of Cholula. It is built of brick about 175 feet in 
height, with a breadth of 1,400 feet at the base. In these days it is 
scarcely to be recognised as the work of human hands. It rises in three 
terraces, green with plants, overgrown with trees ; on its summit stands 
a church with high cupolas and many towers, surrounded by tall 
cypresses. 

A beautiful story from pre- Aztec times attaches to this pyramid. 
We are told that the Toltecs, who ruled over the broad plains of 
Anahuac, and much of the land that borders on it, before the time of 
the Aztecs, were a mild, peaceful race, who busied themselves with the 
arts and sciences, cultivated the land, and reared flowers and fruits. 
Their deities were also of a gentle disposition, and were pleased with 
the pure fire which burned in the temple (teocali), and with the offering 
of :(lowers, whose sweet fragrance penetrated to them, and made them 
inclined to grant man's everlasting petitions. But no god was so 
favourable to man as was Quetzalcoatl, the god of the air. He had 
lived amongst them, had taught them the art of cultivation and 
working in gold, besides that of ruling wisely over distant lands and 
nations of greater importance. That was Mexico's golden age: a 
measure of maize was so large that it required the whole strength of a 
man to carry it ; the cotton hung in gay colours from the plants, a 
sweet odour filled the air, and birds with splendid plumage sang the 
most musical melodies. But Quetzalcoatl was an enemy of war, and 
when it was mentioned he stopped his ears. Therefore he aroused the 
hatred of a more powerful divinity, and was obliged to fly. He stayed 
his flight in Cholula, where a pyramid with a beautiful teocali was built 
in his honour. Quetzalcoatl, however, wandered still farther till he 
had reached the sea and the gulf ; then he took leave of his lovers and 
worshippers, promised to return one day, and entered a boat which was 
made of snake-skins, and sailed far off into the east, whence the sun 
came. He was a large white man, with a long beard. The Indians 
await his return with longing, for with him will return happiness and 
riches, and the golden age, in which the Toltecs once revelled, will 
bloom again. 

But later on, when the Aztecs had driven out the gentle race of 
Toltecs, they learned their arts and sciences, but did not imitate their 
mildness of disposition ; they were cruel and harsh, bloodthirsty and 
revengeful, and they attributed like qualities to their gods. The chief 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



165 



god was Huitzlipochtli, or Mejetli, the god of war ; they slaughtered 
the captive enemies in his honour, and even offered them to him as 
burnt sacrifices. 




But they shed blood not only in honour of the god of war ; in 
Cholula, where the fragrance of flowers had enchanted the tender heart 
of Quetzalcoatl, human sacrifices were offered to him. Young men and 



166 THE GOLDEN^ AMERICAS. 

maidens out of the conquered cities were slain upon the pyramid of 
Cholula by the priest clothed in a red mantle. He tore their hearts 
out of their breasts, sprinkled the images of the gods with the blood, 
and let it run far down over the walls of the pyramid. Six thousand 
people are said to have been sacrificed every year in this way. 

This legend of the good white man, who was to come again as the 
redeemer of Mexico, is said to have fervently impressed the native 
races with regard to the unfortunate Maximilian. The Indians, not- 
withstanding their outward Christianity, still cling tenaciously to the 
superstitions of their fathers, and the " coming man," who is to restore 
their country to its pristine glory and prosperity, is always a white man 
from over the sea. 

There is great uncertainty even among the learned as to the origin 
and descent of the Mexican Indians. It is known that the inhabitants 
of the New World were called "Indians" owing to the erroneous 
opinion which prevailed, at the time of the discovery of America, that 
Columbus had landed upon an island belonging to India. The deepest 
researches reach back to the eighth century, when the Toltecs immi- 
grated into the country, cultivated it, and established a species of 
civilisation. Later on, they deserted it, and spread themselves over 
Central America. A century after the departure of the Toltecs, the 
Chichimecs wandered into the vale of Anahuac from the far north-west 
— a rough hunting tribe, found by the Spaniards in the north of the 
Mexican plateau, remains of which even now inhabit Michoacan, Guada- 
laxara, and San Luis Potosi. The Nahuatlacs must have come into 
Anahuac in seven tribes, from the north, about the twelfth century. 
One of these tribes — that of the Acolhuans — ^was governed by the poet- 
king of Tezcuco, Nezahualcoyatl ; another branch was that of the 
Aztecs, which, under Montezuma, extended its sway over the wide plain 
of Anahuac, and mastered all the other races. According to an oracle, 
the Aztecs were to end their wanderings at the place where they found 
a cactus (nopal) growing out of a stone and an eagle perched upon it. 
There they founded the town of Tenochtitlan, also called Mexico, after 
the war-god of Mexitli. This fable is the origin of the Mexican coat-of- 
arms, which represents an eagle sitting upon a nopal with a snake in its 
beak. 

All these tribes had a common language, — the "Nahuatlac " — now 
spoken by most of the Indians, and called the Aztec tongue. There are 
traces of original races, with manners and languages of their own, all 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 167 

over the country. They used to count at least forty languages in the 
territory of the former kingdom of New Spain. The " Mayas," a nume- 
rous aboriginal tribe, with a tongue of their own, live in Yucatan and 
part of the provinces of Las Chiapas and Tabasco. The Mexican 
Indians are small and thin, but well built and very muscular ; their skin 
is about as dark as that of our gipsies, only more sallow ; their dark, 
black eyes are set rather obliquely in their heads, their cheek-bones are 
prominent, their foreheads low, their hair of a glossy black and straight, 
the beard stronger than amongst the Indians of North America. In 
some of the tribes the long chin projects, the forehead retreats suddenly, 
the lips are broad, and the head very large ; for this reason these races 
are very ugly, while the greater number of Indians have very expressive 
features. The women, on whom neglect and dirt have a particularly 
unpleasing effect, are more ugly than the men, but all have an expression 
of gentleness, suffering, and submission. Prescott, in his famous work 
upon the conquest of Mexico, says, speaking of the Indians — 

" Those familiar with the modern Mexican will find it diliicult to 
conceive that the nation should ever have been capable of devising the 
enlightened polity which we have been considering. But they should 
remember that in the Mexicans of our day they could only see a con- 
quered race, as different from their ancestors as are the modern 
Egyptians from those who built, I will not say the tasteless pyramids 
but the temples and palaces, whose magnificent wrecks strew the borders 
of the Nile at Luxor and Karnac. The difference is not so great as 
between the ancient Greek, and his degenerate descendant, lounging 
among the masterpieces of art, which he has scarcely taste enough to 
admire, speaking the language of those still more imperishable monu- 
ments of literature which he has hardly capacity to comprehend. Yet 
he breathes the same atmosphere, is warmed by the same sun, nourished 
by the same scenes, as those who fell at Marathon, and won the trophies 
of Olympic Pisa. The same blood flows in his veins that flowed in 
theirs. But ages of tyranny have passed over him ; he belongs to a 
conquered race. 

"The American Indian has something peculiarly sensitive in his 
nature. He shrinks instinctively from the rude touch of a foreign 
hand. Even when this foreign influence comes in the form of civilisa- 
tion, he seems to sink and pine away beneath it. It has been so with 
the Mexicans. Under the Spanish domination their numbers have 
silently melted away. Their energies are broken. They no longer tread 



168 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

their mountain plains with the conscious independence of their 
ancestors. In their faltering step and meek and melancholy aspect we 
read the sad characters of the conquered race. The cause of humanity, 
indeed, has gained. They live under a better system of laws, a more 
assured tranquillity, a purer faith. But all does not avail. Their 
civilisation was of the hardy character which belongs to the wilderness. 
The fierce virtues of the Aztec were all his own. They refused to 
submit to European culture — ^to be engrafted on a foreign stock. 

" The relations in which the earth and man stand to each other are 
quite different here and in our over-populous Europe. In the one case 
he has turned every hand-breadth of ground to account; he has 
cultivated the niggardly soil in the sweat of his brow, and forced it 
to produce such plants as are useful to him ; he has to protect every 
blade of grass in its growth under uncongenial circumstances ; he has 
to wait anxiously for sunshine and showers to assist his labours, and 
his greatest enemy is the changeableness of the climate. He estimates 
the growth of field and forest by his own necessities ; it is for the 
service of man only that everything blossoms and ripens — for Ms food, 
clothing, shelter, and warmth; and yet how seldom does it satisfy all 
his wants ! How many are there who hunger and shiver, have no roof 
above them, no clothing to cover them ! The earth is poor in Europe 
in comparison with the needs of its inhabitants. 

" On the other hand, how entirely different are the circumstances of 
this great continent, where moisture and warmth draw out the fertility 
of the soil, and where the population is so thinly scattered that all 
this wealth remains unused! The earth is free and independent; 
Nature lavishes her gifts for her own pleasure, and adorns herself with 
fruits and flowers. In the few spots that , have been sown by the hand 
of man she has rewarded his labour four-hundredfold. The inhabitant 
of the town is the only needy person, and he only if he is sick or 
crippled. The Indian is never rich, but never poor ; cotton grows 
everywhere, from which he prepares his scanty clothing ; every tree, 
every shrub, provides him with food. Future times will no doubt 
produce a great alteration ; Europe is pouring its overflow into this 
broad, generous bosom ; all eyes will be fixed with interest upon the 
New AVorid, and relations will be established which we cannot now 
conceive, exceeding all our present notions, and proving how small is 
much that appears great in our eyes, and more especially our own 
wisdom." 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



169 



The following account of a visit to the mines, in which the Indians 
are largely employed, will be read with interest : — 

" Mr. Barron, Don Pedro Escandon, and two young Frenchmen, 
the one a nephew of the writer Chateaubriand, and bearing the same 
name, were our companions on this journey ; we drove with them in a 
diligence through a great deal of unpleasing country, which, moreover. 




MEXICAN NATIVE SOLDIERS. 



was not thought to be very safe. The gentlemen had revolvers with 
them, six Zouaves sat upon the imperial, and when half-way the 
' Guardia Rurale,' which is in the pay of the Mining Company, came 
to meet us. It is in this manner that country excursions are made in 
Mexico. We rested for a short time at a miserable little place, 
Tisayuca, half-way between the capital and Pachuca, and found a very 
good dejeuner a la fourcliette in a dirty inn, full of flies, kept by a French 
landlord. 

"Then we went on towards the naked-looking mountains, which 



170 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

contain rich veins of silver, are rented by the ' English Mining Com- 
pany,' and yield a large profit. 

"The little unlovely town of Pachuca lies in a narrow cleft at the 
foot of these mountains. The director of the company possesses a 
roomy house here, built after the fashion of the country, but furnished 
in all the luxury of English habits. Mr. Thomas Auld was just about 
to follow his family to England, and to resign the dictatorship, which 
had made him a very wealthy man in the course of a few years ; his 
brother, Mr. Scuart Auld, was to succeed him. Both the brothers, and 
the wife of the latter, received us with a kindness and friendliness 
which laid us under great obligations. The eight days which we spent 
under their hospitable roof were, in truth, not the least pleasant of 
those passed in this distant country. 

" The first morning was occupied in inspecting the most productive 
mine, Rosario, into which one enters without descending, and out of 
which there came such a stream of hot air that we did not penetrate 
farther than about two hundred yards. The mineral ore containing 
the silver lay everywhere scattered about our narrow paths, and a few 
strokes of the hammer were sufficient to put ns in possession of some 
specimens of it. Then we went to the haciendas, great edifices, where 
we learned the different processes ; how the water was pumped out of 
the shafts, how the ore was crushed, the silver separated and purified 
(by the amalgamation of quicksilver) from all alloy ; how the quick- 
silver was then itself removed, the pure silver collected in porous 
cupels, finally smelted, and cast into heavy bars. A bar contains the 
value of about 1,500 dollars; tweniy-eight bars are sent off every 
fortnight, which gives a gross produce of 12,000,000 dollars in the 
year. A third of this goes towards all the expenses of working, 
another third for the interest per cent, which is paid to the State, 
while the remainder forms a clear profit, and is divided among the 
shareholders. More than 1,200 Indians work in these mines, and 1,600 
mules are employed in the haciendas. The guard of the company goes 
twice a month with the bars of silver to the seaport towns, from whence 
they are shipped, for the most part, to England. 

" The company has made excellent roads everywhere; we travelled 
upon one of them in the afternoon, escorted, by the trim Guardia 
Rurale, over a high mountain, to Real del Monte. We went along 
precipices that made our hair stand on end ; the mountains are covered 
only with brushwood and gay flowers. The Spaniards have completely 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 171 

rooted out the neiglibourmg forests, so that the aspect is melancholj. 
But there was some compensation for us in the fine distant views we 
obtained over the plain and towards the snowy range. 

"As we approached Real del Monte the vegetation assumed a diffe- 
rent character, and at length we drove through a noble forest of ilex, 
in a ravine behind which lies a little town, at a height of 10,000 feet. 
Even in these low latitudes no warmth reaches to such an elevation. 
I had not shivered so much for a long time as I did upon this July- 
afternoon in the tropics, and the stove-fire in the house of Mr. Stuart 
Auld I found excessively cheering. All the houses in this neighbour- 
hood have shelving roofs to protect them from the frequent falls of 
snow, which give the landscape an almost European character. One 
could easily fancy oneself transplanted to the Alps ; the valleys are 
united by well-engineered mountain roads, the vegetation no longer 
wears a tropical aspect, and the forests consist of evergreen oaks, 
cedars, and cypresses, and of those beautiful pieces of fir which had 
already excited our admiration upon the heights of Rio Frio. The 
formation of the rocks is very marvellous ; the celebrated ' pines 
cargados ' stand out like pyramids from the green turf of the narrow 
valleys ; in other places rise lofty walls of porphyry at the side of the 
road, and conceal in their clefts dahlias, convolvuli, sylvias, and other 
gaudy flowers. The waterfall of Regla is also very interesting. It 
dashes down high rocks of basalt, not far from the pretty hacienda of 
San Miguel. How manifold is the beauty in which this mighty con- 
tinent is adorned, and how much more grandeur we might have seen 
and admired had not rain and robbers, and the difficulty of communi- 
cation, laid such heavy fetters upon our love of travelling ! After a 
sojourn of eight days in Pachuca we returned to Mexico, and took up 
our abode in the pretty house of the family Escandon, in the ' Calle 
del Puerte de San Francisco.' Since we were deprived of more excur- 
sions to a distance, we visited all that offered most interest in the 
neighbourhood of the capital, and sought after all extant evidence of 
the conquest of Mexico, and for all particulars which could give us an 
insight into that period, but there is, unfortunately, but little such 
information to be found. 

" The celebrated tree the ' Noche Triste ' is of the same age and 
family as the trees of Chapultepec (Taxodium distichum, or Ahuahuates 
in Mex.) It is of immense girth, its top is already dead, and it stands 
in a former churchyard, near a decayed monastery. Beneath its shade 



172 THE GOLDEN AIVIERICAS. 

Cortes is said to have enjoyed a few hours' repose with a handful of 
faithful followers, after the greater part of his troops had been 
attacked and massacred, and he could hope for no escape otherwise 
than by a glorious death. Aided by craft, courage, and genius, the 
daring adventurer had penetrated with his small band into the very 
heart of the kingdom, even to the capital itself, the renowned Tenoch- 
titlan. He became the guest of the dreaded Montezuma, inha- 
bited his most beautiful palace, at the foot of the largest teocali, was 
honoured by the Aztec emperor, and laden with gifts at his hands. 
The inhabitants of the town named the Spaniards ' the white gods,' 
admired, revered, and dreaded them." 



CHAPTER VIT. 

The Golden Brazils— Extent of tlie Empire — Political Division o£,\Castes— Idle- 
ness of the Native Brazilians — Brazilian Yanity — Sugar Plantations — The 
Pardos, or Mulattoes — Creoles — Slavery — IMode of Obtaining Liberty — 
Indian Mentos, or Civilised Indians, and Tapinos, or Wild Hordes — Habits 
of the Wild Indians — The Tnpinambas — The Amazons — Explorations by 
Mr. Bates — Primeval Forests — Afloat on the King o£ Rivers — Santarem — 
Obydos— The River Negro — Flies— Melipona Bees— Ants— Scarlet-faced 
Monkeys — More about the People of Brazil. 

"T EAVING for awhile Golden Mexico, we shall direct the reader's 
-*-^ attention in this chapter to the subject of the Golden Brazils, the 
most golden, so it is now said, of all the Americas. 

Of this country, perhaps more than of any other in the world, it 
may truly be said : — 

" Stern Winter smiles in this auspicious clime : 
The fields are florid in eternal prime : 
From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow, 
Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow j 
But from the breezy deep the gToves inhale 
The fragrant murmurs of the eastern gale." 

In extertt Brazil is second only to the colossal empire of China. 
The length from north to south is nearly 2,700 miles, and the breadth 
from east to west approaches 2,300. On the south and east its shores 
are washed by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean; on the west it is 
bounded by Peru, Bolivia, and La Plata ; and on the north by Guianc 
— French, Dutch, and British — and Columbia. A great portion of the 



174 THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. ^ 

country consists of high table-lands and mountains, the vegetation is 
rich and luxuriant, and it has been justly remarked that no country is 
more favoured by nature for the carrying on of an extensive commerce. 

In Brazil, unlike the Spanish and English colonies, there is hardly 
any political division of castes, and very few of those galling and de- 
grading distinctions which have been made by all other nations in the 
management of their colonies. This was not intended by the mother 
country, but has arisen from the circumstances connected with the 
colonisation of this vast territory, which rendered intermarriage with 
the natives inevitable. It is true that, according to the old code, people 
of colour are not eligible to some of the chief offices of government, nor 
can they become members of the priesthood ; but from the mildness of 
the laws the mixed classes have gained ground considerably, and the 
regulations against them are evaded, or rather have become obsolete. 
Marriages between white men and women of colour are by no means 
rare, and the circumstance is scarcely observed upon, imless the 
woman be decidedly of a dark colour, for even a considerable tinge 
will pass for white. The laws as to slaves are peculiarly humane. The 
diseases and the vices introduced by Europeans are said to produce a 
fearful mortality amongst the natives. At the time when the Jesuits 
Anchieta and Nobraga exerted themselves to introduce European civi- 
lisation, an epidemical small-pox suddenly carried off two-thirds of the 
population. 

The Brazilerois, or native Brazilians, born of Portuguese parents, 
in the Brazils, inherit all the idleness and inactivity of their European 
ancestors. Weech remarks, ' ' that the very narrow compass in which 
the necessities of the poorer classes are confined is almost incredible. 
A hut, constructed of thin poles of wood, plastered together, as it were, 
with earth, and covered with straw, is ample security against the sun 
and rain ; a straw mat serves them as a bed, seat, and table ; a dish 
and pot complete the house and cooking apparatus ; a couple of cotton 
shirts, a pair of Unen trousers, a calico jacket, a pair of wooden shoes, 
and a coarse straw hat complete a wardrobe that furnishes them hand- 
somely for a year ; and a kitchen-garden, a few fruit trees, and a 
mandive field furnish them with a plentiful subsistence. Give them 
but a viola (a small guitar strung with metal strings), and some tobacco 
to make their much-loved paper cigars, and their dearest wishes are 
gratified. Smoking the latter, and strumming on the former, they can 
beguile entire half-days in a state of enviable forgetfulness, vegetating 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 175 

like the plants. A few fowls, sent to the city from time to time, furnish 
the necessary supplies ; and there are thousands of families whose 
annual income does not exceed twenty milrees " (four pounds ten shil- 
lings English money). 

Mi\ Bates tells us that among the Brazilians proper he found much 
to admire ; that their government was efficiently and liberally adminis- 
tered ; but that the state of religion in the country was, with ''some 
exceptions, low and unhealthy. There is a zealous bishop, of devout 
and irreproachable life, and there are a few priests who are worthy of 
their superior ; but, as a rule, the priests are both ignorant and irreli- 
gious, exercising a really baneful influence on the morals and habits of 
the people. The half-castes are various, and present some favourable 
specimens ; but the native Indians exhibit in Brazil, as elsewhere, a 
want of adaptability to circumstances, an incapacity for any kind 'of 
culture, and a general inflexibility of organisation, which make their 
long continuance extremely doubtful. 

The established religion of Brazil is the Eoman Cathohc ; but all 
other religions are tolerated, and there is not now, whatever there may 
have been formerly, much intolerance among the Brazilian Catholics, 
except among the lowest and least-instructed classes. Indeed, the others 
are generally distinguished by a want of zeal in religious matters, and 
are more occupied with the outward ceremonies of religion than with 
its spirit or practical influence. There are, of course, great differences 
among the clergy. Some of them possess the virtues and acquirements 
that are suitable to their station, but such is not generally the case, the 
majority being ignorant, bigoted, and not unfrequently j'mmoral. A 
reform of the priesthood would do more than anything else to improve 
the national character and morals. 

Ecclesiastical affairs are under the direction of an archbishop, at 
Bahia (originally a bishopric, bfting the first founded in Brazil, in 1522, 
and raised to the archiepiscopal rank in 1667) ; six bishops — viz., at 
Rio, Pemambuco, Maranhao, Para, IVIariana, and San Paulo ; and two 
*' prelacias," with episcopal powers — viz., Goyaz and Cuyaba. The 
church of Brazil has been for some time engaged in a dispute with 
Rome as to the appointment of the bishops, the people claiming the 
sovereign right of nomination, which the Church rejects.* 

Monasteries and nunneries are, or rather were, numerous in many 

* McCuUoch. 



176 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

parts of Brazil. The saints' days are said to be celebrated in a manner 
as splendid as at Rome. A recent writer observes that neither the 
carnival at Venice, nor the declining masquerades of Paris, can convey 
an exact idea of the tumnlt and extreme absurdities which prevail 
during the days of the "mfr«fZo," or carnival, not only at Rio, but 
throughout the cities of Brazil. Luckily, however, measures have been 
taken for lessening the number of monasteries and nunneries. The 
revenues of many of them have reverted to the crown, and their 
buildings have been applied to other and more useful purposes. 

Among one of the strangest customs among the native population 
is that one of the woman specially elected to the ceremonial distinction 
bearing from the altar at nine o'clock on Christmas-day a baby, or an 
effigy, representing the child Jesus. This is carried all about the 
village, the woman being attended by two Church followers, who collect 
alms to be duly handed over to the priest. Later in the evening the 
procession is made up by several maidens, all with their lamps trimmed, 
who escort the representative mother and child to church. 

The wealthy inhabitants of the country differ only from those of 
the city in their greater ignorance. Wealth alone possesses value in 
their eyes ; knowledge and character appear to them almost superfluous. 
The stranger, therefore, who cannot boast of wealth, is, in their esti- 
mation, a very insignificant person. 

Denis gives the following quotation from an unpublished voyage in 
Brazil, by M. de Tollenare, in which he distinguishes between the 
vanity of the Parisian and the Brazilian : — 

" The vanity of a Frenchman," says he, "peeps out in his conver- 
sation, by his pretensions to wit ; if he be rich, he wishes everybody to 
believe that he owes his wealth to his talents, although it is more fre- 
quently due to chance. His luxury will be the expression, more or less 
happy, of good taste. He refines upon the conveniences of life ; 
follows the most absurd fluctuations of fashion ; pretends to an admi- 
ration of the fine arts, while he admits within the circle of his friends 
only those who manage flattery with address. 

*' The Brazilian, infected with the sin of vanity, is self-satisfied, and 
does not care to conceal it ; whatever may be the source of his wealth, 
he never considers the means by which he obtained it as any reproach ; 
he never tries to disguise them ; let him be but rich and he is insensible 
to shame; when he is poor he is perpetually exhibiting maladresse. 
His luxury is rude and solid; his admiration rests upon substantial 




JUX*/ 



THE GOLDEN AJVIERICAS. 177 

ornaments and massive jewels. Botli men and women bestow much 
attention on their toilet when they appear in public ; ' madame ' repairs 
to mass, attended by a numerous retinue of slaves, richly attired, and 
on her return she perhaps squats upon a mat, to eat, with her fingers, 
dry fish and mandive !" 

The planters of Brazil are very similar to those of other countries. 




■STEW ON THE KIYER NAVAY, A TRIBUTARY OF THE AMAZOXt 

The possession of an engenlio (sugar plantation and manufactory) esta- 
blishes among the cultivators a sort of nobility. A senlior d'engenlio is 
always spoken of with respect, and to attain this rank is the object of 
every one. When the senior is in the company of his inferiors, or 
even of his equals, he is reserved, holds his head high, and speaks in 
that loud and commanding tone that betokens the man accustomed to 
be obeyed. 

The mulattoes (commonly called Pardos, signifying of a brown 
colour, for the term mulatto is regarded as a reproach in Brazil) are 
the offspring of Europeans and negroes. They show considerable 

N 



17^ THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

ingenuity and perseverance in tlie meclianical arts, and are said to 
display a taste for painting. 

Ttere can be no doubt of the effectual influence of tlie mulatto in 
the political affairs of the country : a physical organisation essentially 
energetic, and which fits him to bear up against the heat of the climate, 
Ms activity, and his intelligence point him out as a person likely to 
make a conspicuous figure in a revolution, if not to organise a move- 
ment. 

The Creoles are those born in Brazil of African parents ; the Mam- 
lucos are the offspring of whites and Indians ; the Curibocos, of negroes 
and Indians ; and the Cubros of mulattoes and negroes. The African 
negroes form, as has been seen, a very large proportion of the popula- 
tion. Their condition, though not equal to that of the slaves in Buenos 
Ayres and adjacent countries, is upon a far better footing than in many 
other colonies. It varies, however, in the different provinces, and is 
best in those situated in the interior. In the provinces formerly 
inhabited by the less warlike races among the Indians, who formed 
early alliances with Europeans, the introduction of negroes has been 
less necessary. Such, for example, is the case with Rio Grande do Sui, 
Ban Paulo, and the countries traversed by the Amazon. The negro popu- 
lation is most numerous in the provinces devoted to the raising of sugar 
and coffee, as Bahia and Rio Janeiro, and in these probably they have 
the greatest facilities for obtaining their liberty. The negroes brought to 
Brazil belong generally to Angola, Anguiz, Benguela, Cabinda, Mozam- 
bique, and Congo. Since the recent attempts to suppress the trade, 
Koromantines, or negroes from the Gold Coast, who are thought to 
possess a greater degree of intelligence, are not so frequently met with. 
There are three modes by which the negroes of Brazil obtain their 
liberty : it may be granted them by their master while living, or he 
may bequeath it to them by his wiU, or they may obtain it by ransom. 
The Brazilians divide the Indian races into " Indios Mentos," civi- 
lised or converted Indians speaking the Portuguese language ; and 
Tapnios or Gentios, or wild hordes. 

The general opinion has been that the whole American race, from 
the Polar regions to the Straits of Magellan, offered no^ distinctive traits, 
and that it was almost impossible to subdivide it. But a closer inspec- 
tion has shown that there is as great a difference amongst them as 
among any of the other great varieties of the human race. ' 

With few exceptions, the natives of Brazil appear to belong to the 

A 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 179 

great family of the Guaranis, the differences in the tribes resulting from 
the different situations in which they have been placed, and originating 
partly in physical and partly in moral and accidental circumstances. 

Speaking generally, the natives of Brazil are of a bright-yellow 
copper colour; short, robust, and well-made ; hair black, lank, coarse,, 
and deficient on the chin ; face round, cheek-bones not particularly 
prominent ; skin soft and shining ; nose short, nostrils narrow ; mouth 
middle-sized ; lips thin ; eyes small, oblique, and elevated towards the 
exterior angle. They are in an extremely low state of civilisation, their 
industry being confined, in addition to the arts of hunting and fishing, 
and the gathering of wild fruits, to the culture of manioc and bananas. 
In some tribes clothes are wholly or aU but wholly unknown ; in others 
the women wear a scanty covering round their middle ; and in others 
both sexes are partially clothed. The practice of painting the skin is 
imiversal, and some of them were, and indeed still are, in the habit of 
inserting wooden rings by way of ornament in the under-lip. Almost 
all the tribes were anthropophagists, devouring the captives they had 
taken in war ; but this horrid custom, if it did not entirely cease at the 
epoch of the conquest, has since nearly fallen into disuse, and 
M. D'Orbigny denies that the Guaranis ever ate their children and 
parents, as has been affirmed by some travellers. 

Mr. Bates, however, states that in more than one of his excursions 
beyond Ega he met with Indian cannibals. The species were at least 
two, and an individual belonging to one of them was very well satisfied 
in her appetite for human flesh being recognised. In revenge for one 
of their raids a cannibal tribe was attacked, and amongst the captives 
•was the best dispositioned Indian girl whom Mr. Bates ever met. But 
one day he heard her relate, without the smallest hesitation, and with 
perfect artlessness, how she had herself eaten a portion of the bodies of 
the young men whom her tribe had killed and roasted. She evidently 
did not in the least suspect that there was anything unusually horrible 
or atrocious in the act ; and, what was still more remarkable, the widow 
of one of the victims was present, and the only interest she showed in 
the matter was that of making sport at the broken Portuguese in which 
the girl told the story. 

The Indians are in general grave and serious, but they are notwith- 
standing fond of feasts and pastimes, and are fond to excess of spirituous 
liquors. In some tribes they admit of a plurality of wives ; and the 
men, engaged in chase or in war, or sunk in apathy and idleness, devolve 



180 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

on the women the principal care of the domestic concerns. It is doubtful 
whether some of the more barbarous tribes have any idea of a Supreme 
Being, but they mostly aU believe in the existence of mahgnant demons, 
whom they are anxious to conciliate. Among the tribe called Tupi- 
nambas, the chief was at the same time elective and hereditary — that 
is, a preference was generally given to the son as his father's successor, 
though the custom does not appear to have been immutable. Montaig-ne, 
on meeting an Indian chief at Havre, inquired, through an interpreter, 
what was his right among his tribe, upon which the latter replied — 
" It is that of marching foremost to battle ;" and this might be said to 
express succinctly the extent of power assigned to him by his people. 
The Tupinainbas chiefly inhabit the coast from the river Camama to 
the San Francisco. The Corvados, formerly very numerous, are now 
reduced to a nimaber comparatively insignificant. They dwell chiefly 
on the banks of the Rio Xipoto, in Minos Geraes. They have one 
trait that distinguishes them from most other Indian tribes— that is, 
they bury their dead. The Corvados, it appears, have lost much of 
their primitive ferocity, and with it also much of their former courage 
and intelligence.* 

The Cafutos, a mixture of Indians and negroes, are a very singular 
race. What gives them a peculiarly striking appearance is the exces- 
sively long hair of the head, which, especially at the end, is half curled, 
and rises almost perpendicularly from the forehead to the height of a 
foot or a foot and a-half , thus forming a prodigious and very ugly kind 
of peruke. 

The Yuris, at the commencement of the present century, were very 
troublesome enemies to the Brazilians. A great many fazendos have 
been from time to time destroyed by them. The Rio Doce, the South 
banks of the Parahyba, San Fidelis, and the country watered by the 
Rio Pomba, in Minas, are the chief points exposed to their incursions. 
This race is more implacable than any of the Indian races of Brazil. 
The Botocudos, descended from the Aymores, occupy at present the 
territory lying between the Rio Doce and the Rio Vardo. They inhabit 
the recesses of the forests, are little addicted to agriculture, and are 
exceedingly fierce. The name given to them by the Portuguese is 
derived from patoque, or botoque (literally the bung of a cask), from the 
circular ornament they wear in their ears and lips. 

* McCxilloch. 



THE. GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



181 



We must not omit to notice that the Indians on the shores of the- 
Amazons are fond of ornament, and that, especially among the Orejona 
tribe, they adopt a heavy earring of wood, thrust through the lobe of 
the ear, and represented in the accompanying engraving. It is cer- 
tainly no great ornament, and must cause considerable pain, but it is. 
worn with much pride by the people. 




The principal rivers of Brazil are the Amazons, and some interesting 
details concerning these noble waters and the neighbouring forests are 
furnished by Mr. Henry Walter Bates, who, in 1848, made an expedi- 
tion with his friend, Mr. Wallace, on the rivers. Their object was to 
explore the natural history of its banks, to collect objects and to gather 
facts towards solving the problem of the origin of species. Some thou- 
sands of miles of country were explored, and eleven years spent in the 
search, the result of which was given to the public six years ago. There 
is something wonderfully attractive in the idea of traversing these path- 
less virgin forests — forests that had never yet been trodden by civilised 
man. "Their exuberance of beauty and variety, their damp warm 
moisture, and their extraordinary wealth of insect life, the solercn 



182 THE GOLDEN AJVIEEICAS. 

shade of their heaven-kissing palms, and the impenetrable arch of 
foliage they sustain ; the far-stretching Amazons, with a drainage of 
more than a million and a half of square miles ; the sparse and motley 
population found at intervals upon their banks" — all this has an 
especial charm with it, more interesting than a romance and beautiful 
as a fairy tale. 

Let us enter the primeval forest, and, under conduct of our guide, 
gaze with admiration on the splendid scene. 

" The tree-trunks were only seen partially here and there ; nearly the 
whole frontage, from ground to summit, being covered with a diversified 
drapery of creeping plants, all of the most vivid shades of green ; 
scarcely a flower to be seen, except in some places a solitary scarlet 
passion-flower, set in the green mantle like a star. The low ground on 
the borders between the forest wall and the road was encumbered with 
a tangled mass of bushy and shrubby vegetation, amongst which prickly 
mimosas were very numerous, covering the other bushes in the same 
way as brambles do in England. Other dwarf mimosas trailed along 
the ground close to the edge of the road, shrinking at the slightest 
touch of the feet as we passed by. Cassia-trees, with their elegant 
pinnate foliage and conspicuous yellow flowers, formed a great propor- 
tion of the lower trees, and arborescent arimis grew in groups around 
the swampy hollows. Over the whole fluttered a larger number of 
brilliantly- coloured butterflies than we had yet seen ; some wholly 
orange or yellow (Callidryas)^ others with excessively elongated wings, 
sailing horizontally through the air, coloured black and varied with 
blue, red, and yellow (Heliconii). One magnificent grassy- green 
species {Coloenis dido) especially attracted our attention. Near the 
ground hovered many other small species, very similar in appearance to 
those found at home,, attracted by the flowers and the numerous legu- 
minous and other shrubs. Besides butterflies there were few other 
insects except dragon-flies, which were in great numbers, similar in 
shape to English species, but some of them looking conspicuously 
different on account of their fiery red colours." 

And now the ground rises, the character of the soil seems to change; 
we are in a part of the forest which is of second growth. The grasses 
are abundant ; all the evergreens of our gardens seem reproduced in 
gigantic dimensions ; the heat is intense, the silence profound. There 
is no noise of bird or beast. 

" To obtain a fair notion of the number and variety of the animal 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 183 

tenants of these forests, it is necessary to follow up the research month 
■after month and explore them in different directions and at all seasons. 
During several months I used to visit this district two or three days 
every week, and never failed to obtain some species new to me of bird, 
reptile, or insect. It seemed to be an epitome of all that the Para 
forests could produce. This endless diversity, the coolness of the air, 
the varied and strange forms of vegetation, the entire freedom from 
mosquitoes and other pests, and even the solemn gloom and silence, 
combined to make my rambles through it always pleasant as well as 
profitable. Such places are paradises to a naturalist, and if he be of a 
contemplative turn there is no situation more favourable for his 
indulging the tendency. There is something in a tropical forest akin 
to the ocean in its effects on the mind. Man feels so completely his 

insignificance there and the vastness of ISTature. 

****** 

" We often read in books of travels of the silence and gloom of the 
"Brazilian forests. They are realities, and the impression deepens on a 
longer acquaintance. The few sounds of birds are of that pensive or 
mysterious character which intensifies the feeling of solitude rather than 
imparts a sense of life and cheerfulness. Sometimes in the midst of the 
stillness a sudden yell or scream will startle one ; this comes from some 
4fifenceless fruit-eating animal, which is pounced on by a tiger-cat 
or stealthy boa- constrictor. Morning and evening the howling monkeys 
make a most fearful and harrowing noise, under which it is difficult to 
keep up one's buoyancy of spirit. The feeling of inhospitable wildness 
which the forest is calculated to inspire is increased tenfold under this 
iearful uproar. Often even in the still hours of midday, a sudden 
crash will be heard resounding afar through the wilderness, as some 
great bough or entire tree falls to the ground. There are, besides, many 
sounds which it is impossible to account for. I found the natives 
generally as much at a loss in this respect as myself. Sometimes a 
sound is heard hke the clang of an iron bar against a hard hollow tree, 
or a piercing cry rends the air ; these are not repeated, and the suc- 
ceeding silence tends to heighten the unpleasant impression which they 
make on the mind." 

What a fertile and attractive field of investigation is here opened to 
the naturalist ! Within an hour's walk of Pard are to be found seven 
hundred varieties of butterflies ! 

"In 1849 there were no steamers of which the author could avail 



184 



TFIE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 




SOUTH AilEKICAiN F0K3ST, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



185 



MmseK for tMs voyage, and he was glad to arrange for a passage in a 
merchant schooner of about forty tons burthen. Scarcely knowing 
where he might stop, he provided himself with the various necessities 




ABRrVAL AT A NATIVE VILLAGE ON THE AMAZONS. 



. of housekeeping, with provisions, chests, ammunition, a few books, and 
about a hundredweight of copper money. The crew of the schooner 
consisted of twelve persons, one of whom, the pilot, was remarkable for 
an endurance that in Brazil seemed almost incredible. Save for two or 



186 THE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 

three hours in the morning, he never quitted the helm night or day, 
haying even his meals brought to him by others. The crew were on 
very easy terms with one another and with their ofl&cers, and were by 
no means overworked. On the twenty-eighth day of an easy and not 
unbroken voyage, the schooner made the main stream of the Lower 
Amazons, having sailed through the river Pard, and the channels on the 
south-west of the island of Marajo. Any tolerable atlas will show the 
course. But here is the main stream of the well-named King of Rivers, 
with its total breadth of twenty miles, divided by a series of islands 
into three streams. ' Its ochre-coloured waters,' says Mr. Bates, ' did 
not present the lake-like appearance of the Para or of the Tocantins, 
though there was no lack of majesty ; but they had all the swing, so to 
speak, of a vast flowing stream.' Before night the vessel had passed 
the mouth of the Xingii, the first of the great tributaries of the 
Amazons, and 1,200 miles in length. Then came an introduction to 
the storms of the river. A black cloud was seen in the north-east, and 
scarcely had the sails been taken in when the squall burst forth, 
* tearing the waters into foam, and producing a frightful uproar in the 
neighbouring forest.' A drenching rain followed ; but in half-an-hour 
all was again calm, and the full moon appeared sailing in a cloudless 
sky. Various weather was experienced, and great variety was observed t 
in the breadth of the river and in the position of the land beyond its I 
banks, and in due time the voyagers approached Santarem and the J 
mouth of the Tapajos. The Tapajos flows into the Lower Amazons 
from the south, is 1,000 miles long, and during the last eighty of them 
rolls its clear olive-green waters over a breadth of from six to teii 
miles. Yet it is only over a short space on the right bank of the river 
that you can observe the fact of its inflow, notwithstanding the con^ 
trasted colours of the two waters. ' The white turbid current ' of th< 
Amazons usurps throughout almost the whole breadth of the bed, an^ 
opposite to the mouth of this mighty confluent, and in the middle of 
the main river, you cannot make out that the Tapajos flows into it at 
all. Well may the Portuguese call the Amazons King of Rivers. 

" Mr. Bates paid a short visit to Santarem, and was pleased with 
the generally clean and agreeable appearance of the town. It has the 
advantage of a situation equally beautiful and desirable, and, though 
400 miles from the sea, ' it is accessible to vessels of heavy tonnage 
coming straight from the Atlantic' The voyage of 200 miles from the 
Macacos Channel, by which the author entered the Amazons, was made 



THE GOLDEN^ AMEEICAS. 187 

\)j this ill-rigged schooner in only three days and a half, against stream, 
Ibut with the advantage of a steady trade-wind that blows up- 
stream for five or six months of the year. We shall return to Santarem 
n little later, but at present our destination is Obydos. It is some 
fifty miles higher than Santarem, and on the opposite bank of the 
river."* 

At Obydos, or rather in its neighbourhood, Mr. Bates discovered a 
forest full of monkeys. 

" At Obydos he obtained a solitary specimen of the musical cricket, 
called by the natives, in allusion to its so-called music, Tanana. The 
music consists of a sharp and extremely loud ' resonant stridulation,' 
often repeated. The cricket is two and a quarter inches long, pale 
green, and belongs to a group intermediate between crickets and grass- 
hoppers. It produces its note by means of curiously- constructed 
wing-cases. 

" After remaining for some weeks at Obydos, the author embraced an 
opportunity of getting up to the river Negro. On every day, at about 
noon, the vessel was made fast in the shadiest place that could be 
found, while the master cooked dinner on shore, and his passengers 
hunted for new species in the forest. In the afternoon, the only object 
of life was to escape the sickening heat of the sun, even the stifling 
cabin being thought preferable to the unshaded deck. Then came the 
intensely-appreciated and delicious coolness of evening. The forest, 
too, woke out of its profound siesta, and every living thing in it gave 
forth its voice ; fireflies, swift and brilliant, flashed to and fro among 
the gathering shadows, and at length all, save here and there a grass- 
hopper or a tree-frog, became hushed and still beneath the infinite blue 
sky and the unspeakable glory of its stars. The author was almos 
daily adding largely to his collection of objects, the voyage being made 
by very easy ' stages ;' and a few days before reaching the Negro, but 
after passing that prince of tributaries the INIadeira, a river 2,000 miles 
long, he made acquaintance with that traditionary pest the pium-fly. 
This satanically-inspired little creature of only two-thirds of a line in 
length, having here commenced its reign, at about 900 or 1,000 miles 
from the sea, ' continues henceforward as a terrible scourge along the 
upper river or Solimoens, to the end of the navigation on the 
Amazons.' 

* Quarterlj Review, 1863. 



188 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



" It comes fortli only by day, relieving tlie mosquito at sunrise with 
the greatest punctuality, and occurs only near the muddy shores of the 
stream, not one even being found in the shade of the forest. In places 
where it is abundant it accompanies canoes in such dense swarms as to 
resemble thin clouds of smoke. It made its appearance in this way the 
first day after we crossed the river. Before I was aware of the presence 
of flies, I felt a slight itching on my neck, wrist, and ankles, and on 




looking for the cause, saw a nmnber of tiny objects, having a 
disgusting resemblance to lice, adhering to the skin. This was my 
introduction to the much-talked-of piiim. On close examination they 
are seen to be minute two-winged insects, with dark-coloured body 
and pale legs and wings, the latter closed lengthwise over the back. 
They alight imperceptibly, and squatting close, fall at once to work , 
stretching forward their long front legs, which are in constant motion, 
and seem to act as feelers, and then applying their short, broad snouts 



THE GOLDEN AMEBIC AS. 



189 




190 . THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 

to the skin. Their albdomens soon become distended and red with 
Mood, and then, their thirst satisfied, they slowly move off, sometimes 
so stupified with their potations that they can scarcely fly. No pain is 
felt while they are at work, but they each leave a small circular raised 
spot on the skin, and a disagreeable irritation. The latter may be 
avoided in great measure by pressing out the blood which remains in 
the spot ; but this is a troublesome task when one has several hundred 
punctures in the course of the day. ... In the course of a few 
days the red spots dry up, and the skin in time becomes blackened 
with the endless number of discoloured punctures that are crowded 
together. The irritation they produce is more acutely felt by some 
persons than others, I once travelled with a middle-aged Portuguese, 
who was laid up for three weeks from the attacks of pium ; his legs 
being swelled to an enormous size, and the punctures aggravated into 
spreading sores. 

"Another part of the same district was interesting for its Yelopoeus 
wasp and for Melipona bees. They build with clay in the most patient 
and vigorously masonic fashion. Not less interesting were the white 
ants. In a single termitarium were found, besides the king, queen, and 
workers, no fewer than eight species of soldiers, their arms and 
armature strikingly different. The occasional exodus from a termi- 
tarium is a very remarkable occurrence. It continues on close evenings 
or cloudy mornings during several days, and is attended with the 
greatest excitement among an apparently very anxious community. 
The way is cleared for the ants just perfected from pupae, and away 
they fly by myriads. They fill the air with the loud rustle of their 
wings, and, when attracted by lights, will crowd your chamber with 
innumerable legions, regardless whether they alight on the flame of 
your lamp or the table you are writing on. 

" Almost as soon as they touch the ground they wriggle off their 
wings, to aid which operation there is a special provision in the struc- 
ture of the organs, a seam running across near their roots and dividing 
the horny nervures. To prove that this mutilation was voluntary on 
the part of the insects I repeatedly tried to detach the wings by force, 
but could never succeed whilst they were fresh, for they always tore 
out by the roots. Few escape the innumerable enemies which are on 
the alert at these times to devour them — ants, spiders, lizards, toads, 
bats, and goatsuckers. The waste of life is astonishing. The few that 
do survive pair, and become kings and queens of new colonies. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 191 

"A still more remarkable ant was found up the Tapajos, in a 
channel of about a quarter of a mile in breadth. Wherever the beach 
was sandy it was covered with ' swarms of the terrible fire-ant, whose 
sting is likened by the Brazilians to the puncture of a red-hot needle. 
There was scarcely a square inch of ground free from them.' Farther 
up the same river was a village, Aveyros, which, a few years previous,, 
the inhabitants had been compelled to desert by this furious little 
tormentor. At the time of the author's visit they had returned, but 
we imagine they must before this have been again driven into exile^ 
for the whole village had been undermined. ' The houses are overrun 
with them ; they dispute every fragment of food, and destroy clothing 
for the sake of starch.' Your only chance of preserving anything- 
edible is to suspend it in a basket by a cord that has previously been 
well soaked in capaiiba balsam. The piiim is diabolically inspired, but 
the fire-ant is so diabolical by nature as to need no inspiration. If 
you dare to stand in the street for only two minutes, though at a 
distance from their nests, your audacity is resented as intolerable. 
You are punished without mercy by a horde of fiends that swarm up 
your legs, each of them digging his jaws well into your flesh (for 
better purchase) the instant he touches it, doubling in his tail and 
stinging with all his might. The legs of the chair on which you sit to 
enjoy the evening air must be anointed with the balsam ; your indis- 
pensable footstool must have its legs anointed in like manner ; and the 
cords of your hammock, above all, must be soaked for very life's 
sake. 

"It is high time, however, to descend the Tapajos, and, having 
recovered from its dangers to health and its fatigues, to make for the 
Solimoens or Upper Amazons. After a not very agreeable voyage of 
five weeks from Barra on the Negro, Mr. Bates arrived at Ega. It 
took but a short time to convince him that he could not do better than 
lay himself out forthwith for a long, pleasant, and busy residence there. 
The result has been the enrichment of the chief museums of Europe, 
and a far greater enrichment of the knowledge of natural history 
everywhere. Mr. Bates was very kindly received by the simple-hearted 
people of the place, and grew much attached to them. One day he 
was explaining to a little circle that his pursuit of science in their 
neighbourhood was not without some remuneration from abroad, when 
one of his listeners grew suddenly enthusiastic, and exclaimed, ' How 
rich are these great nations of Europe! We half-civihsed creatures 



192 THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 

know nothing. Let ns teach this stranger well, that he may stay 
amongst us and teach our children.' 

"Scarlet-faced monkeys, the Parauac^ monkey, the owl-faced night 
apes, Barrigudo monkeys, marmosets, were all found at Ega. Another 
curious monkey-like creature found there was the jupura; it has six 
cutting-teeth to each jaw, has long claws instead of naUs, and has 
proper paws in lieu of hands. Many species of bats were observed, 
some of them exceedingly curious, and five species of toucan, the com- 
monest of them being Cuvier s, and the most notable the curl-crested 
toucan. Of other birds there was a scarcity, which Mr. Bates saw 
reason to think was more apparent than real. It often happened, he 
says, that he passed a whole day in the richest and most varied parts 
of the woods without seeing one, while at other times the forest would 
suddenly and swiftly swarm with whole hosts of them — circumstances 
which were clearly to be accounted for by the gregariousness of the 
birds. It was found, indeed, that even the insectivorae were, in this 
instance, like other birds, and hunted in flocks. 

"In insects the neighbourhood of Ega is peculiarly rich. The 
author obtained there, during his four and a half years' residence and 
rambling, upwards of 7,000 species. They included 550 distinct 
species ; and he may well say, ' Those who know a little of entomology 
wiU be able to form some idea of the riches of the place in this 
department, when I mention that eighteen species of true papilio (the 
swallow-tailed genus) were found within ten minutes' walk of my 
house.' Let the hunter over English moors, and commons, and fields 
think of that, and keep the tenth commandment if he can." 








J if 



.\ ■ 



y ^ 




/>- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



193 




A SHIP OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 



CHAPTER Vni. 



About tlie Discovery of the Brazils— Yanez Pine on ; also concerning Alvarez 
Cabral and tlie King of Portugal — A Promising Cargo — Amerigo Vespucci — 
The Brazil Coast divided into Captaincies — Prosperity of the Settlements — 
Arrival of Out-driven Royalty — Independence — Ancient Capital of Brazil, 
Bahia — Description of the City — Its Opulence — How the Fu*st Settlers Fared 
— An Old Legend — Biiildings in Bahia — About Rio, the Modern Capital- 
Description of the City — Its Beauties and Defects — The Houses, the People — 
The Customs of the Country — Population — Indians — ^Ants — Mexican Indians 
— M. Marcoy — The Natives — The River Nanny — Man-Eaters : Nothing in the 
Way of Trade — Habits and Want of Habits— The Essentials of Civilisation 
— Jesuit Missionaries — St. Ignatius of Pevas— Orejone Indians — Forest 
Land — A Home Picture — Beauty of the Natives — Specimens of the Yahna 
Language — A Dance — Odd Sort of Etiquette — Amazons — A Disagreeable 
Predicament with the Ladies. 



i MONG those who accompanied Columbus — now Saint Columbus, 
-^^ surely well worthy of his saintship — was Yanez Pinion, a native 
of Palos. He had the love of adventure in him, and probably the 
thirst for gold as strongly as most men. In his exploration for new 





194 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

lands in the 1^ew World he is said to have touched at Cape St. Augustin^ 
coasted along the Brazilian coast as far as the Eiver Amazon, thence to 
the mouth of the Orinoco. He does not appear to have thought very 
highly of the land, and to have satisfied himself -with taking formal 
possession, as was the fashion of the time, in the name of Leon and' 
Castile, and then to have left it, never suspecting, probably, the rich 
treasures, the mountains of wealth the country contained. The 
discovery by Yanez Pinion is said to have been made in January, 1500. 

In the same year Pedro Alvarez Cabral was appointed admiral of a 
large fleet, sent out by Emanuel, King of Portugal, to follow up the 
successful Toyage of Vasco de Gama in the east. Adverse winds drove 
the expedition so far west, that on the 25th of April Cabral fell in 
with the coast of Brazil, which he supposed at first to be an island ; 
and on Good Friday the fleet cast anchor in a commodious harbour, to- 
which he gave the name of Porto Seguro. Having taken possession of 
the country for the crown -of Portugal, by erecting a cross, and giving 
it the name of Tierra de Santa Cruz, Cabral proceeded on his voyage, 
taking care, however, in the first place, to send information of his 
discovery to his sovereign. Soon after this intelligence reached 
Portugal, Emanuel despatched a small squadron to explore the country,, 
under the command of the famous Amerigo Vespucci, who had been 
invited from Seville for that purpose in 1502, and who made a second 
voyage in a subsequent year. In 1504 he again returned to Europe, 
bringing with him a valuable cargo, including a quantity of Brazil 
wood. 

It was not until 1508 that a third voyage of discovery was under- 
taken to Brazil, as the advantages which had accrued on the former 
voyages did not appear to have answered the expectations of the 
projectors. Amerigo Vespucci was then despatched by the King of 
Spain, to whose service he had returned, to take possession of the 
country. But this produced a remonstrance from Portugal; and a 
dispute having arisen amongst some of the leaders of the expedition,, 
it returned to Spain without effecting anythiug of importance. In 
1515 another expedition was fitted out from Spain, the command of 
which was assigned to Juan Diaz de Solis, with the ostensible purpose 
of finding a passage to the great Pacific Ocean. To this navigator ia 
supposed to belong the honour of having discovered the harbour of 
Eio Janeiro, on the 1st of January, 1516, though the priority in this 
respect has been disputed by the Portuguese admiral, Martin Affonso 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 195 

de Souza. On the return of the expedition to Spain, the Portuguese 
government claimed the cargoes, and again remonstrated on this 
interference on the part of Spain.* 

In the reign of Joan III., the coast was divided into captaincies, 
many of which extended fifty leagues. It is needless to follow step by 
step the rising fortunes of the Brazilian territory. Various towns 
sprang up along the shore, which were subject to the vicissitudes that 
then usually awaited newly-founded colonies. They were successively 
taken and plundered by the French, Dutch, and English, who, if not 
expelled, usually contented themselves with a short possession, and 
abandoned them, after frequently committing the most barbarous 
atrocities. Notwithstanding these calamities, the colony continued to 
increase in prosperity and importance under the superintendence of the 
Portuguese government. But it experienced a severe check on the 
annexation of Poi-tugal to the crown of Spain, in 1588, during the 
reign of Philip II. As the mines that had been discovered down to 
that period yielded less wealth than those of the Spanish possessions in 
South America, Brazil did not receive much favour from that monarch. 
The Dutch took advantage of this indifference on the part of Spain, 
and many Mynheers flocked even from Golden Antwerp and elsewhere 
in the Northern Venice ; and it was not, indeed, until they had made 
considerable inroads, that an expedition was fitted out, in 16-10, to 
expel them from the territory. About this period the house of Bra- 
ganza was restored to the throne of Portugal. After a long and 
desperate struggle the Dutch were compelled to evacuate Brazil in 
1654. Henceforward it continued in the possession of Portugal, but 
the latter country being in a very abject, impoverished state, instead 
of rendering assistance to its colony, was compelled to rest its principal 
hopes of being able to maintain an independent existence on the wealth 
and resources of Brazil, which it subjected to all the galling and 
vexatious restraints of the old colonial system. 

In 1808 a new era began in Brazil. The French having invaded 
Portugal in the course of the previous year, the prince regent, John VI*, 
and his court, accompanied by a large body of emigrants, set sail for 
Brazil, where they arrived on the 25th of January, 1808. Brazil 
•immediately ceased to be treated as a colony. In the course of the 
same year her ports were thrown open to all friendly and neutral 

* McCuUoch. 



196 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

nations ; and by a decree dated the 15tli of November, 1814, all nations 
were allowed to trade freely with them. 

The revolution in Portugal, in 1820, was very speedily followed by 
a revolutionary movement of the same description in Pernambuco ; and 
to restore tranquillity, and anticipate the further progress of revolution, 
the government, in 1821, proclaimed the adoption of the Portuguese 
constitution. Soon after this, the king having left Brazil for Portugal, 
a struggle commenced between the Portuguese, who wished to recover 
their former ascendency over Brazil, and the Brazilians, who were 
resolved to preserve their newly-acquired liberties, which ended in the 




complete separation of all connection, other than that subsisting 
between independent states, between the two countries. The govern- 
ment of Brazil having been intrusted to the crown prince, Don Pedro, 
he refused to admit the troops sent out by Portugal to support her 
authority, or to obey the instructions of the king his father. In the 
following year, 1822, Brazil was declared to be a free and independent 
state, and Don Pedro assumed the title of emperor. After several 
stormy debates, the project of a constitution submitted by the 
emperor was accepted, but the disputes between the emperor and 
the chamber of deputies having continued, the former abdicated 
the throne in favour of his son, a minor, in 1831, and, singular as it 
may seem, the rights of the latter have hitherto been preserved, and 
some attempts at insurrection by the republican party have been sup- 
pressed without much difficulty, and internal tranquillity was pretty 
well maintained. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



197 



The ancient capital of Brazil, officially called San Salvador da 
Bahia de Todas os Sandos, but more generally known by the simple 
name of Bahia, possesses a magnificent harbour. This harbour, 
which gives much commercial importance to the town, has long been 




ANTWERP CATHEDRAL. 



the admiration of mariners, and the skilful French hydrographer, 
whose book is an authority in part of South America, does not hesitate 
to place it amongst the first of the numerous ports of which he gives so 
clear and exact a description. " All Saints' Bay," says he, " taking it 



198 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

in its full extent, forms a very deep gulf in the continent ; this gulf, 
which is known by the name of Reconcaro, is nearly thirty miles in 
circuit, and receives the waters of several rivers, some of which are 
considerable. 

" The largest fleets would be safe in Bahia, for in many situations 
vessels would find good anchorage, secure from all gales, whilst the 
fertility of the surrounding country would insure them all necessary 
supplies. 

" On the eastern side of the principal entrance, where the ground 
rises in an amphitheatre from the shore, is situated the town of San 
Salvador, which possesses some fine buildings ; it stands on uneven 
ground intersected by gardens, and it is divided into the high and low 
towns. Next to Rio Janeiro, the town of Bahia is the most important 
in Brazil, and has a population of 100,000. Several forts, built on the 
summit, as well as at the base of the declivity, command the coast and 
protect the town ; the dockyard is defended by the fort Do Mar, a 
circular fortification built upon a bank of sand two hundred toises 
from the shore." 

Not only is Bahia an opulent and singularly picturesque town, it is 
also a city of old traditions, strange memories, and even poetic legends. 
Brazil had only been discovered three years, when, according to several 
trustworthy authors, whose chronology, however, is questionable, 
the entrance of the bay was explored for the first time by Christovam 
Jaques, who erected one of those sculptured stone pillars which were 
then called Padroes^ and which marked the progress of the navigators 
along the uncultivated shoresv Seven or eight years later, about 1510 
or 1511, the numerous tribes of the Tupinamba Indians, who wandered 
on the fertile coasts of Itaparica, or Tapagipe, had had time to forget 
the passing of the European ship, when a vessel trading in dye-woods 
was stranded upon the shore of the pleasant district which now bears the 
name of Victoria. It is said that the shipwrecked mariners all perished, 
devoured by the savages, with the exception of a brave Gallician, 
who maintained so much sang-froid in the midst of peril, and displayed 
so much dexterity among the Indians, as to save his life and earn for 
himself the privileges of a chief. Arriving in the presence of the 
Tupinambas, who received him clamorously and with menacing gestures, 
Alvares Correa, seizing a stray arquebuse which the waves had cast 
up among the other remains of the wreck, loaded it, aimed at a 
bird, which he killed, and the report of firearms resounded for the 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 199 

first time on these shores. Henceforward the young European bore 
the name of a dreaded animal ; he was called Caramouron, in memory 
of the mysterious power of which he had just given proof. The tribe 
of Indians, struck with terror, surrendered to him ; the daughter of a 
chief, the beautiful Paraguasson, united her fate to his : he ruled abso- 
lute where he thought he must have perished. Tired of a life among the 
Indians, but faithful to his young companion, Correa left Brazil accom- 
panied by her, and embarked in a Norman ship, commanded by Captain 
Duplessis. But here the legend, decking itself in the most brilliant 
colours, and warming with the most varied incident, belies all chrono- 
logy. Welcomed on the banks of the Seine by Catherine de Medici, 
who had been recently united to Henry H., Paraguasson, so the story 
runs, received baptism in an old chapel at Paris, and took the name of 
the young queen who acted as her godmother. Sated with the marvels 
of Europe, she soon left France with Alvares Correa to return to her 
own country, where she established herself in her native village, 
bringing with her the fruitful germs of Christianity, and subsequently 
the conquerors owed to her the legal surrender of the magnificent 
territory upon which the city now stands. 

This legend, which is in the mouth of every Brazilian, and whicb has 
even given rise to a national poem, receives no support from chrono- 
logy ; and the Brazilians, who now really make deep researches as to 
their origin, take good care to defend it, and content themselves with 
their own explanations. They divide the marvellous events into two 
parts, and attribute them to two Europeans cast on their shores about 
the same time ; it is thus that they elicit the truth of the story. 

They assert that Alvares Correa, united to Paraguasson, was the 
primitive founder of the city, but do not allow that he went to France ; 
he received the &rs,t donotario, Pereiro Continho, and even shared his 
misfortunes ; but later, in 1549, when the noble Thome de Souza was 
on the eve of laying the foundations of a regular town in the midst of 
these warlike tribes, he became the most active agent of colonisation ; 
he acted as lingua — that is to say, interpreter — charged with directing 
the difficult negotiations which must precede the erection of a capital 
in a wild region, the inhabitants of which are little known. With 
Thome de Souza came men acquainted with the difficult art of subduing 
tliis proud people and of commanding obedience. Navarro, Anchieta, 
Nobrego, and others, descended the rivers of the South, in order to 
render their assistance to the new governor; and when, in 1557, 



200 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Caramouron died in the midst of his cMldren like a patriarcli full of 
days, the towers of the cathedral were abeady rising on the verdant 
hill where the vast college of the Jesuits was in course of construction. 

This brief account, although very insufficient, at least serves to 
show to what epoch the most important edifices of this capital belong, 
buildings whose erection was actively continued under Duarte da Costa 
and Mendo de Sa, the illustrious governor, whose death occurred in the 
year 1577. 

The genius which planned so many edifices was more active than 
provident. The requirements of commerce increasing, houses and 
immense magazines, called trapiclies^ multiplied, forming the vast street 
of La Praya, which borders on the sea, and which is continually 
menaced by the fall of the enormous buildings of the high town. The 
disastrous events of the years 1671 and 1748, when more than sixty 
persons perished, crushed by the landslip, seemed to be entirely 
forgotten, when catastrophes quite as lamentable at last awoke the 
solicitude of the authorities. About twenty years ago one of the most 
active and provident men who have presided over the destinies of this 
great city, Don Soares d'Andrea, rightly informed the legislative 
provincial assembly that, all the precautions required by prudence 
having been neglected, there remained only two courses to be taken — 
either to abandon completely this part of the town, or to avert as soon 
as possible the peril by which it was threatened, especially at the season 
of the diluvial rains, which cause a return of the landslips. On this 
occasion he gave the opinion of an experienced French engineer. 
Colonel de la Beaumelle, who had remarked, while staying at Bahia^ 
the defective system of construction, and proposed to remedy it by the 
erection of vast buttresses, calculated to sustain the unstable ground. 
The wise administrator wished to adopt this system, and to undertake 
these gigantic works without delay. 

We do not here pretend to name all the edifices of the city, or we 
should have to describe the old cathedral (Sa Se), constructed in the 
year 1552 5 the Jesuit college, built entirely of marble, by the side of 
which is the valuable library, founded, thanks to the suggestion of 
Don Gomez Ferrao, from the proceeds of a lottery, in 1811 ; the palace 
of the former governors, now occupied by the president of the province; 
the Mint, which traces its origin back to the year 1694 ; the play- 
house, only erected in 1806 ; and the public promenade, planted in 
1808, by the orders of the Count dos Arcos, to whom the town is in- 



THE GOLDEX AMERICAS. 



201 



debted for many other useful institutions. From the Passelo Pahlico,. 
where rises the obelisk in commemoration of the arrival of John YL^ 
we direct our steps towards the charming lake known by the name of 
Dique, which, at only a short distance from the town, recalls all the 
delights of those virgin woods now only to be met with in the interior. 
Descending towards the low town, which also has its monuments, we 
may mention the Church of the Conception, which was built,, 
so to speak, at Lisbon ; for all the stones, cut and numbered,, 
were brought thence, about the year 1623, to the spot where^ 




A SETTLER S HOME. 



they were put together. We must not fail to notice the Ex- 
change, a vast building finished in 1816, the magnificent mosaic 
floor of which displays the richest collection of indigenous woods 
known in South America. Among the innumerable religious edifices 
we must at least mention the great convent of San Francisco, founded 
in 1594 ; San Bento, erected thirteen years previously ; Los Carmos, 
San Pedro, the monasteries Das Merces, Do Desterro, Da Soledad, the 
residence of the Ursuline nuns. We remark upon the little church of 
Da Graca, from the fact that it contains the tomb of Paraguasson, and 
notice the Nossa Senhora da Victoria, because the date of 1552 shows 



202 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

it to be the most ancient of these religious structures. Among the 
many edifices belonging to different ages, we must do honour to the 
attention to preservation paid by the last magistrates charged with the 
municipal administration. It is a ruined chapel, but a really very fine 
•specimen of the architecture of the eighteenth century, an age in which 
.«o many churches were erected in Brazil. On the road leading to the 
delightful district called Bom-Fim, may still be seen the chapel of San 
Goncalo. Scarcely a century has passed since the last stones were 
-set in its fa9ade ; agaves, palms, bananas, and even cocoa-trees, now 
..grow in disorder around it, and completely block up its entrance. 
Thousands of other plants spring luxuriantly from the fissures in its 
walls, and hasten its destruction. No pains have, however, been taken 
to retard its decay, which might have been easily avoided ; for this 
chapel, constructed in 1763 by the Jesuits, in a beautiful situation, had 
^only been completed six years before the destruction of the powerful 
order to which it belonged. Its decay soon commenced, and at the 
beginning of this century Lendley described its picturesque ruin as 
one of the most interesting objects in the neighbourhood of Bahia. 

The city of Kio Janeiro, the present capital of Brazil, extends some 
"three miles along the south-west side of the bay, and being much 
intersected by hills, it is difficult to get a good view of the whole range, 
unless from the top of one of the mountains near the city,, such as the 
■celebrated " Corcovado," which stands out like a pulpit on the plain 
below, and is some 2,500 feet perpendicular. The view from this 
pulpit on a clear day is superb, and almost unequalled in the world ; 
the city, with its numero.us divisions and suburbs, below you — the bay, 
■extending as far as the eye can reach until lost in the plain below the 
Organ mountain — the sea, studded with numerous picturesque islands, 
with vessels looking like white specks upon it, and seen to a great dis- 
tance, all together form a most enchanting picture, and amply repay 
the toil of an ascent. The mountain is of granite rock, like aU others 
in this country, but thickly wooded almost to the smnmit, and you 
•come out quite suddenly on the bare point before alluded to, so much 
resembling a pulpit. The following description in a publication * con- 
taining some of the best word-painting of Brazilian city life anywhere 
to be met with, will be readily recognised as most just by all who have 
been long in the capital : — " The town of Bio Janeiro (its proper name 

* A Shetcher's Tour Round tlie World. By Eobert Elwes. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 203 

IS St. Sebastiana) is the largest and best in Sauth America, and the 
population about equals that of Liverpool. It is laid out in regular 
squares ; the streets are narrow, which at first sight seems objection- 
able to an Englishman, but he soon finds that it affords protection 
from the scorching sun ; and the thoroughfares are tolerably well 
paved and lighted, and have trottoirs at the sides. To obviate the 
inconvenience arising from the narrowness of the streets, carriages are 
only allowed to go one way, up one street and down the next, and a 
hand is painted up on the corners to show which way the traffic is to 
flow. The best street, Rua d'Ouvidor, is nearly all French, so that 
one can almost fancy oneself in the Palais Royal ; and nearly every- 
thing that is to be found in London or Paris may be bought in Rio. 
Many English merchants have houses in the city, but most of the 
shopkeepers are French, and this proves a perfect blessing to visitors, 
for a Brazilian shopman is so careless and indolent that; he will hardly 
look for anything in his stores, and will often say he has not got the 
article asked for, to save himself the trouble of looking for it. The 
best native shops are those of the silversmiths, who work pretty well, 
■and get a good deal of custom, for Brazilians and blacks revel in orna- 
ment, often wearing silver spurs and a silver-hafted knife, though 
]3erhaps they may not have any shoes to their feet. The Brazilians are 
very fond of dress, and though it seems so unsuitable for the climate, 
wear black trousers and an evening suit to walk about the streets in. 
Strangers will find no curiosities in Rio Janeiro except the feather 
flowers, which are better here than in Madeira, and fetch a higher 
price. A Frenchwoman, who employs a number of girls of all com- 
plexions in her business, is the principal manufacturer. They are 
made, or ought to be, entirely of undyed feathers, the best being those 
of a purple, cojjper, or crimson colour, from the breasts and heads of 
humming-birds. One of these wreaths has a beautiful effect, and 
reflects different-coloured light. The wing-cases of beetles are also 
used, and glitter like precious stones. Madame has her patterns from 
Paris, so the wreaths are generally in good style and newest fashion. 
The worst shops are kept by English, and this will be found a general 
rule in these foreign towns. The merchants are good and honest ; but 
if one wishes to be well taken in, go to a shop kept by an English- 
man." In consequence of the tortuous formation of the streets, con- 
structed round the base of the hills, it is difficult to get more than a 
bird's-eye view of the city, on ground made by encroachment on the 



204 THE GOLDEN AISIERICAS. 

sea, consequently the streets are low, without drainage, and in several 
of the back ones the water collects and stagnates, to the great detri- 
ment of health and comfort. Rio itself is a bad copy of Lisbon — streets 
at right angles, a large square facing the sea, and the suburbs 
oxtending up the hills which everywhere meet your eye. 

In Lisbon the streets are tolerably well made, but here they have 
built them so miserably narrow that scarcely one carriage can pass 
through, much less pass each other ; and it is evident that such vehicles 
were never contemplated in the original formation of these streets. The 
only way of getting over the difficulty is for carriages coming into the 
city to take one line of streets, and those leaving it another, which they 
do, excluding omnibuses altogether from the principal thoroughfares. 
Lnprovements in this way are most backward, and there seems a great 
want of municipal government. In many places the pavement is exe- 
crable, and generally very bad, the difficulty having probably been 
increased by laying down mains for water and gas — the latter now in 
process of execution — and also by heavy rains, which have washed away 
many parts of the road, and otherwise caused much damage. When 
once this troublesome job is got through, it is to be hoped some effec- 
tive measures will be taken to put the streets and branch-roads in order, 
otherwise they will soon be rendered impassable. Coach and coach- 
spring making must be thriving trades here, especially with the immense 
increase that has taken place in the number of carriages and omni- 
buses ; and it is really Avonderful how they stand the continual shocks 
they have to endure. Mr. Robert Elwes, from whose work we have 
already quoted, thus writes : — 

"The inhabitants of Rio Janeiro are fond of carriages, but the 
specimens generally seen would not do for Hyde Park, being chiefly 
old-fashioned coaches, drawn by four scraggy mules, with a black 
coachman on the box and a postillion in jack-boots on the leaders, 
sitting well back, and with his feet stuck out beyond the mules' 
shoulders. The liveries are generally gorgeous enough, and there is no 
Lack of gold lace on the cocked hats and coats ; but a black slave does 
not enter into the spirit of the thing, and one footman will have his hat 
cocked athwartships, the other fore and aft ; one will have shoes and 
stockings with his toes peeping throagh, the other will dispense with 
them altogether. But the old peer rolls on unconscious, and I dare say 
the whole thing is pronounced a neat turn-out. The Brazilians are 
great snuffers, and always offer their box if the visitor is a welcome 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 205 

guest. It is etiquette to take the offered pinch with the left hand. 
Eape is the Portuguese for snuff, hence our word ' rappee.' They do 
not smoke much. The opera was good, the house very large, tolerably 
well lighted, but not so thickly attended as it might have been. The 
ladies look better by candle-light, their great failing being in their com- 
plexions, the tint of which may be exactly described by the midshipman's 
simile of snuff and butter. The orchestra was good, many of the per- 
formers being black or mulattoes, who are excellent musicians. The 
African race seem to like music, and generally have a pretty good ear. 
Both men and women often whistle well, and I have heard the washer- 
women at their work whistling polkas with great correctness. I was 
amused one evening, on going out of the opera when it was half over, 
offering my ticket to a decent-looking man standing near the door, he 
bowed, but refused it, saying that men with jackets were not allowed in 
the house." 

Government seems at last alive to the absolute necessity of doing 
something to improve the sanitary condition of the city and also its 
internal organisation, as they have lately got out some good practical 
English engineers, who, we have no doubt, will suggest an effective 
mode of dealing with present difficulties. If they do not adopt decisive 
measures, the rate of mortality may be expected to augment fearfully in 
a dense population of 300,000 to 400,000 inhabitants huddled together 
in some 15,000 houses surrounded by impurities of every kind, not the 
least being the stagnant water in the streets. No exact census has ever 
been taken of the population of Rio Janeiro, which, however, is believed 
to be between the two figures above given. There is a migratory 
population, but the accumulation of humanity of every race and colour 
contained in some of the large dwelling-houses is something extra- 
ordinary. As before observed, Nature has done much for this country, 
and if the natural facilities of Rio Janeiro were properly turned to 
account, and local improvements carried out with energy and spirit, it 
might be rendered one of the finest and most luxurious places within 
the tropics. The opportunity is now open to them ; the government 
possess ample means, and it is just a question whether measures of pro- 
gress are to be greatly achieved or the city to be abandoned to its fate. 
The great evil attending all improvement in Brazil is an undue apprecia- 
tion of native capability, and a disparagement or distrust of those whose 
practical experience would enable them to grapple with the difficulties 
that surround them — a kind of little jealousy and mistrust that prevents 



206 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

tliem from availing tliemselves of opportunities thrown in their way to 
carry out undertakings necessary to the well-being of the country ; nor 
can they understand the principle on which such things are regulated 
in England, still less the magnitude of operations carried on there and 
in many other parts of Europe. Yet the time seems to be coming when 
these principles will be better understood here, and when the applica- 
tion of EDglish capital towards the improyement of the country may be 
safely and legitimately brought to bear. 

Few spots in the New World are more indebted to Nature than the 
environs of Rio Janeiro, all possible combinations of scenery being 
included in one magnificent perspective. , * One of the best views is from 
Corcovado Mountain, which, although upwards of 3,000 feet in height, 
can be ascended on horseback. Like most mountains around, it is 
rather a rock, or Titanic monolith, than a mountain, and it may be 
compared with the gnomon of a gigantic sun-dial ; and, in fact, it& 
shadow in particular localities supplies the place of a parish clock. Its 
sides are still in great part covered with forest and "matts," or jungle, 
notwithstanding numerous fires by which it has been devastated, and 
the immediate result of which is a deficiency in the supply of water to 
parts of the capital ; for the destruction of trees here, as elsewhere, 
causes a scarcity of the aqueous element, and the springs which arise 
on and around this mountain feed the conduits and aqueducts that 
convey that fluid into Rio. From the summits may be seen the 
whole extent of the harbour and city, .the Organ Mountains in the 
distance, several lakes along the coast, a wide expanse of ocean, and 
innumerable ravines and spurs of the mountain covered with richest 
foliage. The most remarkable, however, of all the mountains near the 
capital is the Garin, with a flattened summit, sometimes called by the 
English the Table Mountain, in Portuguese the " Square Topsail," to 
which it bears a resemblance. It is reputed to be inaccessible — at least, 
it has not yet, as far as can be ascertained, been ascended. Opening 
into the outward harbour is Botafogo Bay, a short distance from the 
capital, where many foreign merchants reside to enjoy the cool sea 
breezes, and where the buildings are of a superior description, with 
beautiful gardens attached, many being luxuriantly planted with oranges 
and lemons, bananas, pomegranates, palm-trees, and a vast variety of 
shrubs and vegetables peculiar to Brazil, including the universal cabbage- 
plant, in great profusion. The aqueduct, which is passed in several 
places in the ascent of the Corcovado. is a well-built and striking object, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 207 

crossing several streets of JRio, and conveying excellent water front 
the heights of that mountain to the different fountains in the town. 

The population of Eio, on the arrival of the royal family, did not 
amount to 50,000, but afterwards rapidly augmented, so that in 1815, 
when declared independent, the number had nearly doubled, and now is 
estimated at about 400,000, with the suburbs and the provincial capital 
of Nithershy, on the opposite shores of the bay. 'I'his increase is partly 
to be ascribed to the influx of Portuguese, who have at different time& 
left their country in consequence of the civil commotions which have- 
disturbed its peace, as well as of English, French, Dutch, Germans, and 
Italians, who, after the opening of the port, settled here — some as mer- 
chants, others as mechanics— and have contributed largely to its wealth 
and importance. These accessions of Europeans have effected a great 
change in the character of the population ; for at the commencement of 
the century, and for many years afterwards, the black and coloured 
persons far exceeded the whites, whereas now they are reduced to less 
than half the number of inhabitants. In the aggregate population of 
the empire, however, the coloured portion is still supposed to be treble 
the white. 

But it is impossible to arrive at anything like an exact census of 
the Indian population of South or Central America. The Indians are- 
docile and obliging, and their capability of bearing burdens is enormous. 
They are far more intelligent than the negroes, and the basis of their 
character is more noble. In referring to this subject, especially with 
regard to the natives of Mexico, the Countess Kollonitz says : — 

"It is very interesting to visit the Indian villages of Santa Anita, 
and Ixtacalco, in the neighbourhood of Mexico. The Pasco de la. 
Viga, one of the promenades of the city, extends southwards from. 
Mexico, where the canal of Chalco opens into the spacious harbour, in 
which hundreds of Indians land every morning with their wares. This, 
promenade leads to the villages, which are inhabited solely by 
Indians. Flowers betray their vicinity ; however small and poor the 
hut may be, it is always surrounded by most fragrant and beautiful 
flowers. 

"This is a glorious walk ; the snow mountains rise straight before- 
you, as if they were the sole object of the road, and they appear to be 
very near, owing to the clearness of the atmosphere ; to the right are 
broad meadows and luxuriant fields of maize, surrounded by wild 
straggling shrubs with red flowers. The Indians bring their fruit and 



208 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



flowers, maize and hay, upon flat canoes to the city. Women in bright 
red petticoats, with children and dogs, lie in picturesque attitudes near 
the rich cargo ; an awning fastened to two poles gives them shade from 
the glowing rays of the sun. Far out to the left stretch the famous 
Chinampas, or floating gardens of the Indians. In old times the 
surface of the Lake Chalco was pure and clear, and the waves 
Avantoned according to their own caprice ; but the Indians covered it 
with rafts and straw matting, upon whicli they strewed soil, and 
planted thereon flowers and vegetables. These rafts are now firmly 
iixed ; they are no longer driven hither and thither by the waves, but 
form little islands, surrounded by hedges of roses, and filled with the 
finest vegetables. Standing in his canoe, the Indian rows from one to 




HERALDIC SHIELD OF BRAZIL. 



•iin other, and enhances the charm of the scene by his own peculiar 
appearance. These Chinampas provide the whole town with fruit and 
vegetable. When we arrived at Santa Anita and Ixtacalco, and the 
■children caught sight of us, they vanished in a trice, but soon re- 
4ippeared with great bunches of flowers, which they offered us. They 
received our little presents with joy, and as often as we repeated our 
visit this exchange took place, to our mutual satisfaction. 

" The Indians are zealous Roman Catholics, even though in many 
points the superstition of their fathers has grown up in close union 
with the new creed. The clergy, who have a great influence over 
them, keep them purposely in the deepest ignorance. In other respects 
the Mexican priests have always been the zealous protectors of the 
oppressed and heavily-afilicted Indian race. The great Queen 
Isabella II., who always took the warmest interest in her newly- 
acquired subjects, who were so badly treated by the Conquistadores, 
was painfully anxious about them when on her deathbed, and com- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



209 



mended them to tlie pity of her successor. The clergy, for the most 
part, loyally fulfilled these her last wishes. As far as they could they 
opposed the avarice and cruelty of the colonists, and their voices often 
resounded with energetic complaints before the throne of the Kings of 
Spain. Barthelemy Las Casas was never weary of describing, both in 
speech and writing, the woes of the Indians, in the hopes of enlisting 
humanity and justice on their side. At the end of the last century the 
Bishop of Michoacan, Antonio de San Miguel, in a memorial to 




ISABELLA n. 



Charles III., exposed the defects of political institutions which gave 
the Indians over as a prey to the harshest treatment at the hands of 
the whites. Alterations were made which lightened their lot, but a 
real protection from the unscrupulous behaviour and covetousness of 
cunning men who have power in their hands is not to be expected in a 
country where caprice prevails, and individuals are not controlled by 
the strong tribunal of public opinion." 

As to the Brazilian Indians, we have already noticed some of their 
peculiarities ; more remains to be said, and, thanks to M. Paul Marcoy, 
we are enabled to furnish some interesting particulars. 

The strictest attention is paid by the people as to the position they 

p 



210 THE GOLDEN ^UIERICAS. 

occupy in regard to their desceut from tlie Spanish settlers. Those of 
the longest genealogy claim the title of don and donna, and consider 
themselves to be of the white race, while the tint of their complexion 
varies from that of a decayed leaf to brickdust. They represent a sort 
of native aristocracy ; they are generally attired in a short white shirt, 
tvith pantaloons of blue cotton and a straw hat of native manufactm'e. 
Their feet are, as a rule, bare. We are now speaking especially of the 
Iquitos on the banks of the Iliver Nanny, an affluent of the Amazons. 
The wild Iquitos are still accused of devouring the dead and murdering 
the living, but there is little doubt that in this matter they have been 
dangerously calumniated. But the accusation has made no very serious 
alteration in the business transactions of the infidel and non-infidel 
Indians. In a matter of trade the Christian Indians are right willing 
to admit the heathen to their table and to drink with them from the 
same cup. About once a week these so-called cannibals appear in the 
Iquitos village in company with their wives. They are ready to 
exchange fish for anything they can get, and their " catch" will some- 
times be so great as to give them those important articles of civilisa- 
tion — a shirt and a pair of breeches Not that the wild Indian values 
these things very much ; a week after he has obtained them he will be 
seen without them, his free limbs exposed to the free air and the free 
sunshine — in fact, in a state of complete nudity with the exception of a 
girdle and a small and beautifuUy-worked apron. The arms used by 
these people are a lance, some eight feet long, of which they are as 
proud as one of the yeomen of the guard of his halberd. 

As to the women — the mothers— they carry their little ones stark 
naked at their backs, accommodated with a sort of sling of cotton 
material. On the march the women employ themselves in making 
nets and other useful articles, such as hammocks. Theirs is real, 
earnest work — ^work which when completed will be of good use ; not 
fancy work, " red with the blood of murdered time." Some of the net- 
work wrought by these so-called savages is exceedingly beautiful. 
They obtain from the mission station beads of all colours, and string 
them together in their manufacture in the form of vine-leaves and 
other devices. A French writer naively suggests that this sort of thing 
will lead to the adoption of appropriate under-linen and a sansflectum 
petticoat. 

The native races on the shores of the Napo are divided into three 
tribes-^the Orejones properly so called, the Cootoo, and the Angeteros. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 211 

The Orejones are tall of stature, and remarkable for tlieir well-knit 
and supple frames. Tlieir eyes are small and sliglitly oblique, and 
elevated at the outer corners, their noses large and broad, their lips 
thick and full. They allow their hair to grow long, and it sometimes 
reaches to their sheulders. The nostrils are usually pierced, with a 
small piece of bamboo thrust through, to which is appended a couple of 
sea-shells. The ears are also usually pierced, and some sort of orna- 
ment suspended from the lobe. The women follow the example of the 
men in the decoration of their person, and frequently distort their ears 
by the weight they will attach to them in the shape of earrings. The 
principal weapon in use is the fearful bamboo lance, a long, pointed 
wooden spear, which inflicts wounds so terrible that recovery is hopeless. 

Scattered among these people, and among the native tribes 
generally on the banks of the Amazons, are many mission stations, 
where priests act as the schoolmasters as well as the spiritual directors 
of the people. The missionary settlement of Pehuas, or, as it is now 
called, Pevas, was founded in 1684 by the Jesuits of Quito, and dedi- 
cated to St. Ignatius Loyola. Everything went well with the fathers 
until 1788, when the baptised Indians revolted, murdered the principal 
of the mission, and returned into the woods to adopt again the old wild 
life of their fathers. Another mission viUage bearing the same name 
was afterwards established at a short distance from the old one. The 
natives returned, and were for awhile very well affected to the priests, 
but they again suddenly retired — this time without the shedding of 
blood, but on both occasions the village was destroyed. A third time 
St. Ignatius of Fevas rose, phoenix-like, from its ashes. It now, after 
an existence of fifty years, comprises twenty-three houses, inhabited 
by forty-five matrimonjos or families, averaging six persons, thus 
giving a population of two hundred and seventy individuals, including 
the aged and the young children. The church and convent are the 
two principal buildings in the town. The brothers are nearly all 
French, most of them young, and all men of good ability. They have 
united with their apostolic functions that of traders, and cotton goods, 
provisions, hatchets, tools of all kinds, and weapons of various 
descriptions are kept in stock for the accommodation of the natives. 

The Orejone Indians appear to adapt Christianity to their own 
traditions, and to receive with no very special reverence the teachings 
of the missionaries. The natives believe that the soul is the mistress of 
the body, but it is not regarded as immortal ; it dies with the body. 



212 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

but may sometimes be resuscitated in another form. They acknowledge 
something approaching to the doctrine of the Trinity — a creative God, 
called Omasoronga ; a preserving God, named Iquedema ; and a Spirit of 
love and intelligence, denominated Puguayama. They have a tradition 
of the Deluge, and of a family being preserved in a skiff which floated 
on the waters for many days. 

But the Indians are well disposed towards the brothers, and many 
of them will implicitly receive their teachings. They will obey without 
questioning — sometimes — but not always ; the love of a free life in the 
woods draws them away from the more regular habits of a civilised 
community. Yet still they do believe in these men — men who have left 
the " centre of civilisation," Paris, itself to Christianise and civilise 
the heathen. They are found, as M. Paul Marcoy shows, to be more 
respectful to their teachers than are some purse-proud, self-sufficient, 
baptised pagans nearer home. 

Very grand and very beautiful is the description which the writer 
to whom we have just alluded furnishes of the forests on the shores of 
the Amazons. The deep solitude, the prodigal luxuriance of Nature, 
the wondrous tangled mass of foliage, the song of the wild bird, the 
gibbering monkeys — all so foreign, all so strange, yet all so inviting — 
man absent — life present. Immense forests of palms and mixed species 
of trees meet the eye, with climbing and parasitic plants which extend 
to the lower part of the basin of the Rio de la Plata and the plains to 
the west of Buenos Ayres. Everything on a colossal scale ; everything 
magnificent. He tells us of the overpowering heat and of the delightful 
shade, of a march which seemed interminable in company with one of 
the brothers, of fatigue which entirely overcame him, of the delights of 
refreshment, and of an introduction to a native family who dwelt in 
the woods. 

The man, he tells us, was about thirty years of age, admirably 
developed, but entirely naked with the exception of a strip of cotton 
cloth round his middle. He was reclining in his hammock and playing 
with his last-born, a pretty little fellow who might have served a 
painter as a study for the divine Bambino. The child was laughing 
joyously as it stood on the robust body of its father, upheld by his 
strong hand as it jumped and capered. Just below the hammock were 
two comical little children in high spirits and great good-humour with 
each other. Their mother — a very fine-looking young woman, but as 
destitute of clothing as her lord — was brightening up the fire and 



THE GOLDEX AMERICAS. 



213 



making preparations for a meal. Both the man and the woman, 
M. Marcoy says, were remarkable for their extreme beauty of form : 
the man was a superb gladiator, the wife a Niobe of the noblest type. 
The admiration expressed by M. Marcoy — the genuine enthusiasm of 
an artist for the beautiful — gratified the president of the mission 
station, who permitted him to see and to sketch some beautiful speci- 
mens of "the human form divine." He tells us that in the Indians 
who were shown to him he saw finer classic models than he had ever 
seen sitting as models for gods and heroes in the ateliers of Paris at five 
francs the sitting. Both the men and women were splendidly formed, 
and the women wore their curious ornaments with an air of naivete 
which would have done no discredit to a young lady of fashion. 




THE FLAG OF BEAZIL. 



Both by the native Indians themselves, as well as by the Catholic 
missionaries, M. Marcoy seems to have been hospitably entertained. 
Arriving at a village, he is welcomed by the women, children, and aged 
men, and entreated to remain until the return of the husbands and 
fathers from their hunting and fishing. They are hearty in their 
reception, and serve him with an excellent supper in the largest hut 
in the village ; two old women cooking, two damsels serving, with all 
kinds of courtesy and good- will. After supper the Yahnas talked 
together for some time in an undertone, and then an old man announced 
that they would execute, in honour of their visitor, the national dance 
of the Bayente. The Bayente, by the way, is nothing more nor less 
than the devil of the Yahnas. The dance was performed by three 
principal men, who dressed themselves in sacks, which they put over 
their heads, and allowed to descend below the knee. The bottom of 
the sack, or more properly speaking the opening of each sack, was orna- 
mented, and that portion which covered the head was drawn up to a 
point and also decorated. Holes were made for the eyes and mouth, 
something like a Guy Fawkes mask, and each dancer was provided 



2L4 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



with a native pipe or flageolet, to give music to the dancing. As to 
the dance itself, it was a wild series of contortions, becoming wilder as 
it proceeded, until it closed with the utter prostration of the dancers. 

Some of our readers may be glad to know something of the language 
spoken by the Yahnas ; we therefore append a few specimen words : — 



God 


Tupana. 


Manioc 


Chuchia. 


Devil 


Bayente. 


Banana 


Sandue. 


Heaven 


Arichu. 


Cotton 


Richuer. 


Sun 


Hini. 


Palm 


Cojoleno. 


Moon 


Arimaney. 


Flower 


Ramoch 


Star 


Narchi. 


Wax 


Mapa. 


Day 


Niana. 


Peccary 


Hagun. 


Night 


Nipora. 


Tiger 


ISTimbou. 


Morning 


Tanaraniase. 


Caiman 


Noroto. 


To-day 


Tatander. 


Bird 


Huicha. 


Yesterday 


Nibia. 


Butterfly 


Eu\-uta. 


Water 


Aah. 


Mouth 


Nashi. 


Fire 


Jigney. 


Musquito 


Ninoh. 


Rain 


Humbra. 


White 


Papase. 


Cold 


Sanora. 


,Black 


Mibanacai. 


Heat 


Huanequi. 


Red 


Tuinah. 


Earth 
Stone 


Muka. 
Ahuichun. 


Green 
Blue 


Ancachi. 


Sand 


Quericha. 


Theft 


Saperanu. 


Eiver 


iN'ahna. 


Flying 


Saperanu5aa. 


Forest 


Toha. 


Work 


Yamutatara. 


Tree 


Hamnnino. 


To Fasten 


Nampichina. 


Wood 


Hinqunsen. 


To turn round Agatara. 


Man 


Huano. 


To Travel 


Yansuima. 


Woman 


Unaturuna. 


Arriving 


Sitamana. 


Child 


Huina. 


Departing 


Saimana. 


Widow 


Rimitio. 


Sleeping 


Rimaheni. 


Old 


B/imitona. 


Waking 


Saynesema. 


Young 


Medra. 


Eating 


Ejemi. 


Death 


Sanitiura. 


One 


Tekini. 


House 


Rore. 


Two 


Xanojui. 


Piroyne (boat) 


Muinun. 


Three 


Mama. 


Oar or Paddle 


Satian. 


Four 


Hairojuna. 


Basket 


Hithon. 


Five 


Tenaja. 


Girdle 


Pichanai. 


Six 


Teki-natea. 


Bow 


Cano. 


Seven 


Kanojui natea. 


Lance 


Rouhuea. 


Eight 


Munua natea. 


Poison 


Ramnea. 


Nine 


Nairo juino natea. 


Fish 


Quihua. 


Ten 


Huiji juino. 



The Yahnas, notwithstanding the efforts of the Catholic mis- 
sionaries, entertain but a very confused idea of their faith. They mingle 
their own superstitions with the teachings of the missionaries, and the 
amalgamation is most perplexing. They call the Virgin Mary Ama- 



THE GOLDEN" AMERICAS. 215 

mana, and describe her as being the mother of all the stars and the 
sister of Jesus Christ, whom they call Imaycama. In their yiew of things 
Satan was nothing more than the very humble servant of the evil spirit 
Bayente, a sort of agent acting on commission in the world of darkness. 

In exchange for some knives, M. Marcoy obtained a complete dress, 
as worn by the native dancers in compliment to Bayente, together with 
a couple of flutes. 

As to the missionaries, if they fail sometimes in making clear the 
abstruse doctrines of divinity, they do not fail, as a general rule, in 
obtaining the respect and affection of the people. Once influenced by 
the "fathers," they are exceedingly docile, submitting to penances 
without a murmur. Thus M. Marcoy tells us at one mission he found 
two young women — girls we might say, but girls are women soon in 
Brazil — ^kneeling in a corner. He asked the reason. They had laughed 
in prayer-time ! As a punishment they were to kneel twelve hours 
on their bare knees, of course without food. One of the girls had 
leant her head against a convenient beam and fallen fast asleep, but 
the other was wide awake and very miserable. Of course M. Marcoy 
did what you or I would have done — he "begged them off," and the 
two pretty creatures, released from such " durance vile," flew off with 
the merry note of a bird that had regained its liberty. 

When our " guide, philosopher, and friend" became acquainted with 
the Ticunas, he found them not altogether unlike the Yahnas. If a 
Yahna called his god Tupara, so did the Ticuna, and if one called the 
devil Bayente and the other Mhohoh, it signified little. They had 
their own peculiarities, but they danced a dance very similar to that of 
the Yahnas, and seemed to enjoy it every bit as well. One of their 
customs is singular. If a member of another tribe present himself at 
the hut of a Ticuna, the rule is, although they may expect his coming, 
to offer hostile resistance, and at the point of the lance, and with arrow 
on the string, to oppose entrance. But these warlike demonstrations 
are purely a matter of etiquette, and as soon as the visitor can playfully 
effect his entrance he is heartily welcome, and takes possession of the 
first vacant hammock he can find. The huts of the Ticunas are usually 
fitted up with three or four hammocks, in which the leading members 
of the family may recline at leisure. Nets to preserve the lounger or 
sleeper from the musquitoes are spread over the hammock, and the 
visitor does not fail to avail himself of the accommodation. But the 
matter of etiquette — etiquette is laborious — is not over yet. The 



216 THE GOLDEN AMERICxiS. 

master of the house, in a voice like that of a rentriloquist, and 
peculiar to the Ticunas, demands — 

"Who art thou? whence comest thou? Art thou a friend or aii 
enemy? and what is thy business here?" 

The visitor satisfies the owner of the house as well as he is able ; if 
he be weU known, and the visit be a visit of friendship, he clears up 
the difficulty in a light and joyous manner ; if it be a mere business 
transaction, it is not likely he would mount to the hammock, but stand 
quietly untU etiquette gave way to commerce. Maybe he wants to 
sell ; maybe he wants to buy ; in either case he waits his due time, goes 
through the preliminary pantomime as well as may be, and then enters 
on the broad question of what will you give me for so much, or what 
will you take for that. 

The Ticuna women are remarkable for their strength and courage. 
They are the Amazons of the Amazon. It is said that in some parts of 
the country they rule absolutely — where and in what country do the 
women not ? — that their prowess is something extraordinary, and that 
if a being of the masculine gender excite their ire, it is so much the 
worse for him, (where is it not ?) as they make nothing of compelling 
him to run the gauntlet — he altogether in undress, and they all armed 
with bundles of twigs, every stroke from every one of which is like a 
volley of small shot ! 



CHAPTER IX. 

What we knew of the Fauna of Brazil Two Hundred Years Ago— The Cha- 
meleon, or Indian Salamander — A Deadly Poison — Serpents — The Rattle- 
snake — Its Poisonous Sting, and Mode of Cure — The Serpent Guaku — ^A 
Big Swallow — Good for Food — A Formidable Assailant — A Sting and its 
Cure — Like Cures Like— Cobra de Cipo — The Adder Ibiara — The Cobra de 
Corais— Cobra Yerde— The Kaniana — The Ibirako and Others — Land Croco- 
diles—Scorpions — Ants — ^Yarious Specimens — The Iron Pig of Brazil — Birds 
• — The Wild Goose — Other Feathered Favourites — ^All about everything in 
Brazil, but according to Oj very old authority. 

THROM Mr. John Nieuboff, who made his exploration in the Brazils 
-■- some two hundred and twenty years ago, we glean many par- 
ticulars of the fauna of the country, much of which has been confirmed 
by more modern travellers. Of the chameleon, or Indian salamander, 
we are told that the creature, which is not only found in Brazil but also 



THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 



217 



in the Isle of Java, belonging to the East Indies, and winch by our 
people is called gekho^ from its constant cry (like, among us, that of the 
cuckoo), is properly an Indian salamander. It is about a foot long ; its 
skin of a pale or sea-green colour, with red spots. The head is not 
unlike that of a tortoise, with a straight mouth. The eyes are very 
large, starting out of the head, with long and small eye-apples. The 
tail is distinguished by several white rings ; its teeth are so sharp as to 




EOCK SNAKE, COBRA-DI-CAPELLO, AND BOA CONSTRICIOR. 



make an impression even upon steel. Each of its four legs has a fine 
crooked claw, armed on the end with nails. Its gait is very slow, but 
wherever it fastens it is not easily removed. It dwells commonly upon 
rotten trees, or among the ruins of old houses and churches ; it often- 
times settles near the bedsteads, which makes sometimes the Moors 
pull down their huts. Its constant cry is geTcko^ but before it begins it 
makes a kind of hissing noise. The sting of this creature is so venomous 
that the wound proves mortal unless it be immediately burned with a 
red-hot iron, or cut off. The blood is of a palish colour, resembling- 
poison itself. 



218 THE GOLDEN AISIERICAS. 

The Javanese used to dip tlieir arrows in the blood of this creature ; 
and those who deal in poisons among them (an art mu<ih esteemed in 
the island of Java by both sexes) hang it up with a string tied to the 
tail on the ceiling, by which means it being exasperated to the highest 
pitch, sends forth a yellow liquor out of its mouth, which they gather 
in small pots set underneath, and afterwards coagulate into a body in 
the sun. This they continue for several months together by giving 
daily food to the creature. It is unquestionably the strongest poison 
in the world, being of so corrosive a quality that it not only raises 
blisters wherever it touches the skin, but turns the flesh black, 
and causes a gangrene. The inhabitants of the East Indies say that 
the best remedy against this poison is the curcumie root. 

There are also several sorts of serpents in Brazil, such as rattle- 
serpents, double-headed s^pents, and such- like, called by the Brazilians 
boigvacu, or siboya, arabo, bioby, boicininga, boitrapo, boykupekanga, 
bapoba, kukuruka, ibiara, jakapekoaja, ibiboboca, jararaka, manima, 
vona, tarciboya, kakaboya, amorepinima. 

We, however, says the quaint writer we are quoting, give you an 
account of those only that dwell in the houses and woods of Pernam- 
buco, passing by the rest, as not so well known among us ; and it is 
observable that although some of the American or Brazilian serpents 
exceed those of Europe in bigness, they are, nevertheless, not so 
poisonous. 

The serpent of hoicinmga^ or hoiciniiiinga, likewise called hoiquira by 
the Brazilians, is by the Portuguese called kaskaveda and tangedor^ 
meaning "a rattle," and by our people a rattle-snake, because it 
makes a noise with its tail not unlike a rattle. This serpent is found 
both upon the highway and in desolate places ; it moves with such 
swiftness as if it had wings, and is extremely venomous. In the midst 
it is about the thickness of a man's arm, near the elbow, but grows 
thinner by degrees towards the head and tail. The belly and head is 
flattish, the last being of the length and breadth of a finger and a half, 
with very small eyes. It has four pecidiar teeth, longer than aU the 
rest, white and sharp like a thorn, which it hides sometimes within the 
gums. The skin is covered with thick scales, those upon the back 
being somewhat higher than the rest, and of a pale yellowish colour, 
with black edges. The sides of the body are likewise yellowish, with 
black scales on each side ; but those upon the belly are larger, four- 
square, and of a yellow colour. It is three, four, and sometimes five 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 219 

feet long, has a round tongue, split in the middle, with long and sharp 
teeth. The tail is composed of several loose and bony joints, which 
make such a noise that it may be heard at a distance ; or rather, at 
the end of the tail is a long piece consisting of several joints joined 
within one another in a most peculiar manner, not unlike a chain. 
Every year there is an addition of one of these joints, so that you may 
know the exact age of the serpents by their number ; Nature seeming 
in this point to have favoured mankind, as a warning to avoid this 
poisonous creature by this noise. The sting of this creature is some- 
what slow in its operation, but it is ultimately fatal, for in the begin- 
ning a bloody matter issues from the wound, afterwards the flesh turns 
blue, and the ulcer corrodes the adjacent parts by degrees. The most 
sovereign remedy used by the Brazilians against the poison of this and 
other serpents, says good Master Nieuboif, is the head of the serpent 
that has given the wound, which they bruise in a mortar, and in the 
form of a plaster apply it to the affected part. They mix it commonly 
with fasting spittle, wherewith they also frequently moisten the wound. 
If tliey find the poison begins to seize the nobler parts, they use the 
tiproha as a cordial, and afterwards give strong sudorifics. They also 
lay open the wound, and apply cupping-glasses to draw the venom 
thence, or else they burn it with a red-hot iron. 

The serpent l-ukuruka is of an ashy colour, with yellow spots within 
and black speckles without, and has just such scales as the rattle- 
serpent. The serpent gualcu^ or siboya^ he tells us with extreme 
gravity, is unquestionably the largest of all serpents, some being 
eighteen, twenty-four, nay, thirty feet long, and of the thickness of a 
man in the middle. The Portuguese call it kohre dehado, or the roe- 
buck serpent, because it will swallow a whole roebuck or any other 
deer it meets with ; and this is performed by sucking it through the 
throat, which is pretty narrow, but the belly vastly big. After they 
have swallowed such a deer they fall asleep, and so are caught. Such 
an one, says Nieuboff, I saw near Paraiba, which was thirty feet long 
and as big as- a barrel. Some negroes accidentally saw it swallow a 
roebuck, whereupon thirteen musqueteers were sent out, who shot it 
and cut the roebuck out of its belly. It was of a greyish colour, though 
others are inclining more to the brown. It is not so venomous as the 
other serpents. The negroes and Portuguese, nay, even some of the 
Dutch, eat the flesh ; neither are its stings looked upon as very infec- 
tious, the wound healing up often without any application of remedies ; 



220 THE GOLDEN AIVIERICAS. 

so that it ought not to be reckoned among the number of poisonous 
serpents no more than the keninana, mavina, and vocia. This serpent 
being a very devouring creature, greedy of prey, leaps from among the 
hedges and woods, and standing upright upon its tail, wrestles with 
both men and wild beasts ; sometimes it leaps from the trees upon the 
traveller, whom it fastens upon, and beats the breath out of his body 
with its tail. The serpent jararaka is short, seldom exceeding the 
length of an arm to the elbow. It has certain protuberant veins in the 
head like the adder, and makes much such a noise. The skin is covered 
with red and black spots, the rest being of an earth colour. The stings 
of this creature are as dangerous, and attended with the same symptoms, 
as those of other serpents. Its body — the head, tail, and skin being 
before taken away together with the entrails — boiled in the water of the 
root of jui^epeba, with salt, dill, and such-like, is looked upon as a very 
good remedy. 

The serpent hoitrapo^ called by the Portuguese cohra de cipo, is 
about seven feet in length, of the thickness of a man's arm, feeds upon 
frogs, and is of an olive colour ; it is very venomous, and when it stings 
occasions the same symptoms as the serpent kukuruka — nay, the wound 
is accoimted past curing unless you apply the hot iron. 

The adder ibiara, by the Portuguese called cohra vega, or cobra de 
des cabecas — that is, the double-headed serpent, because it appears to 
have two heads, which, however is not so. They are found in great 
numbers lurking in holes underground. They feed upon ants, are 
of the thickness of the length of a finger, and a foot and a half long, of 
a silver colour ; nothing is more poisonous than the stings of these 
creatures, though not beyond all hopes of cure, provided the before- 1 1 
mentioned remedies be applied in time. 

The serpent by the Brazilians called ibiboboka the Portuguese call 
c )bra de corais. It is very beautiful, of a snow-white colour, speckled 
with red and black spots, and about two feet long ; its sting is mortal. 

The serpent biobi — called by the Portuguese cobra verde, or the 
green serpent — is about three-quarters of a yard long, and the thickness 
of a thumb, of a shining green colour. It lives among houses, and hurts 
nobody unless when provoked. The sting is, however, full of poison 
and scarcely curable. A certain soldier, says our authority, being 
wounded by one of these creatures, which lay hidden in a hedge, in 
his thigh, did for want of proper remedies die in a few hours after- 
wards ; his body swelled and turned pale blue. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



221 



The serpent kaniana is yellow on the belly and green on the back ; 
its length is about eight hands, and it is looked upon as the least 
venomous of all. It feeds upon eggs and birds, and the negroes and 
Brazilians eat the body after they have cut off the head and tail. 




CROCODILE, ALLIGATOR, AND LIZARDS. 



The serpent called by the Brazilians ihirako is of several colours — 
white, black, and red spots. The sting of this creature is very poisonous, 
attended with the same symptoms as that of the hukuruka^ for it kills 
infallibly, unless proper remedies be applied immediately. If the poison 
has not seized the heart, they boil the flesh of the same serpent with 
certain roots, and give it the patient in wine. 

The serpents tareyloia and kakaboya are amphibious creatures. The 
first is of a blackish colour, very large, and stings when provoked, but 
this is not very difficult to be cured. The kakaboya is of a yellowish 
colour, six hands long, and feeds upon tame fowl. 



222 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Not only in the captainship of Pernambuco, but also all over Brazil 
and America, likewise in the Isle of Java, in the East Indies, are a 
certain kind of land crocodile, called by the Brazilians senamhi — by our 
people seguan ; they vary in size from three to five feet long, but 
seldom exceed five feet ; they are entirely covered with scales, which 
are somewhat larger in size on the back, legs, and beginning of the tail 
than on the other parts ; the neck is about three nails long, the eyes are 
black and bright, and the nostrils are in the hindmost part of the head. 
Each jawbone is full of small black and short teeth ; the tongue is very 
thick ; all along the back from the neck to the tail are small sharp teeth 
of a greenish colour ; they are larger on the neck, and gradually get 
smaller towards the tail. The skin is of a delicate green, with black 
and white spots. It has four legs and feet, with five claws armed with 
sharp nails. It can live two or three months without food. Its flesh 
is as white as that of a rabbit, and of as good a taste as that of fowls 
or rabbits, if it be boiled or fried in butter, takin*; care that it is well 
done. There arc also in Brazil lizards, both great and small ; some are 
green, others greyish, about four feet long, with sparkling eyes. The 
negroes feed upon some of them, Avhich they kill with blunt arrows ; 
they broil them after they have skinned them, and eat them without 
the least harm. Among aU those that are found among the thorns and 
briars, or the ruins of houses, there is but one kind venomous, which 
is called Uhora. They are like the others to look at, but smaller, not 
exceeding in size; a nail and a half long; they are of an ash colour, 
inclining to white ; the body and limbs thick and swelled with the 
poison, but the tail short and broad. The wounds given by them are 
full of a thin disagreeable-smelling matter, with blue swellings, causing 
severe pain near the heart and in the bowels. 

There are also certain creatures called thousand legs, as likewise 
hundred legs, by the natives called amlma, who bend their body as 
they crawl along, and are very poisonous. The first are commonly 
found in the houses, the last among the w^oods, where they not only 
spoil the fruits of the earth, but also plague men and beasts. 

Scorpions, by the Brazilians called jaaciaiira, are found here in 
great numbers, being in shape like the European scorpions, but not so 
pestiferous, consequently the wounds given by them are easily cured. 
They lurk in houses, behind old stools, benches, and chests. They are 
exceedingly large, no larger being found in any other parts, some of 
them being five or six feet long, and of considerable thickness. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 223 

There are sucli prodigious quantities of aiits in Brazil tliat for this 
reason they are called by the Portuguese Eey de Brazil — that is, King 
of Brazil. They eat all that comes in their way, such as fruit, flesh, 
fish, and insects, without any harm. There is also a certain winged 
ant, about two nails long, Avith a triangular head, the body being 
separated into two parts and fastened together by a small string. On 
the head are two small and long horns, their eyes beiog very small. 
On the foremost part of the body are six legs, three joints in each, and 
four thin and transparent wings — to wit, two without and two within ; 
the hindermost part is of a bright brown colour, and round, which is 
eaten by the negroes. They dig into the ground, like the mole, and 
consume the seed. There is also another kind of great ant, resembling 
a great fly, the whole body of which is about the length of half a finger, 
and separated into three several parts, the last part resembling, in shape 
and size, a barleycorn, the middle part of an oblong figure, with six 
legs, about a finger long, each of which has four joints : the foremost 
part, or the head, is pretty thick, in the shape of- a heart, with two 
horns, and as many black crooked teeth. The white of the eyes is 
inclining to black, the whole composition of the head being the two 
eyes, placed opposite to each other, resembling the figure of a heart- 
The fore and hinder parts are of a bright red colour. 

There is another kind of ant, of a bright black colour, with black 
and rough legs. It is about the length of a finger, with a large four- 
square head, starting black eyes and teeth, and two horns, about half a 
finger in length. The body is also separated into three parts, the 
foremost of an oblong figure, not very thick, with six legs, each of the 
length of half a finger, the middle part very small and square, not 
exceeding the size of a flea. The hinder part is the largest of the 
three, of an oval figure, and sharp on the end. These three parts are 
fastened together with a single string ; the BraziHans call it tapijai. 

There is besides this another ant, called by the Brazilians kupia, of 
a chestnut brown colour, its head being as large as another ant, 
with black eyes, two horns, and two tusks instead of teeth. It is 
divided into two parts, the foremost part with six legs being some- 
what less than the hindermost. At certain seasons it gets four wings, 
the foremost being a little larger than the hindermost, which it loses at 
a certain time. 

The iron jng of Brazil, called by the Brazilians laiamhi, and by the 
Portuguese ourko kacMere, is of the size of a large ape, its whole body 



224 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

being covered with sharp spikes of three or four fingers long, without 
any hair. Towards the body these spikes are halfway yellowish ; the 
remaining part is black, except the points, which are rather of a whitish 
shade, and as sharp as an awl. When they are vexed they are able, 
by a certain contraction of the skin, to throw or dart them with such 
violence as to wound, nay, sometimes kiU, men or beasts. Their whole 
body, to measure from the back part of the head to the beginning of 
the tail, is a foot long, and the tail a foot and five inches in length, 
which likewise has sharp spikes, the rest being covered with bristles 
like other hogs. The eyes are round, starting, and glistening like a 
carbuncle. About the mouth and nose they have hair of four fingers' 
length, resembling those of our cats or hares, only longer. Their feet 
are like those of apes, but with four fingers only, without a thumb, 
instead of which you see a place vacant, as if it had been cut away, 
The fore -legs are less than the hind-legs ; they are likewise armed with 
spikes, but not the feet. This creature commonly sleeps in the day- 
time, and roves about by night ; it breathes through the nostrils, is a 
great lover of fowls, and climbs up the trees, though very slowly. The 
flesh is of no imgrateful taste, but is roasted and eaten by the inhabi- 
tants. It makes a noise jii, like the luyaert. 

That four-legged creature, by the Brazilians called ai, by the 
Portuguese priguiza^ and by the Dutch luyaert (lazy-back), from its 
lazy and slow pace, because in fifteen days' time it scarcely walks 
above a stone's throw. It is about the size of a middle-sized fox, its 
length being a little above a foot, to measure from the neck (which is 
scarcely three fingers long) to the tail. The fore-legs are seven fingers 
long to the feet, but the hinder legs are about six ; the head round of 
three fingers in length : its mouth, which is never without a foam, is 
round and small, its teeth neither large nor sharp. The nose is black, 
high, and glib, and the eyes small, black, and heavy. The body is 
covered all over with ash-coloured hairs, about two fingers long, which 
are more inclined to the white towards the back. Round about the 
neck the hair is somewhat longer than the rest. It is a very lazy 
creature, unable to undergo any fatigues, by reason its legs are, as it 
were, disjointed in the middle ; yet it keeps upon the trees, but moves, 
or rather creeps, along very slowly. Its food is the leaves of the trees ; 
it never drinks, and when it rains hides itself. Wherever it fastens 
with its paws it is not easily removed; it makes, though seldom, a 
noise like our cats. 




/llll'lll'l" ll/i 



THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 225 

The ant-eater is tiius called because he is said to feed upon nothing 
but ants ; there are two sorts, the great and the small. The Brazilians 
call the first tamanduaij and the latter tamanduai-guacu. It is a four- 
legged creature the size of a dog [query — about the size of a lump of 
chalk?], with a round head, small mouth, long snout, and no teeth. 
The tongue is of a roundish shape, but sometimes twentj-fiye 
inches — nay, two feet and a half — long. AYhen it feeds it stretches 
out its tongue upon the dunghill till the ants have settled upon it, 
and then swallows them. It has round ears and a rough tail; it is 
not nimble, but may be taken with the hand in the field. The" small 
one, called tamenduai-guacu^ is of the size of a Brazilian fox^ about a foot 
in length. On the fore-feet it has four crooked claws, two larger ones 
in the midst and the two smaller ones on the sides. The head is round, 
yet pointed at one end, a little bent below, with a little black mouth, 




Y^ithout teeth. The eyes are very small, the ears stand upright about a 
finger's length. Two broad black lists run along on both sides of the 
back. The k-airs on the tail are longer than those on the back : the 
extremity of the tail is without hair, wherewith it fastens to the branches 
©f the trees. The hairs all over the body are of a pale yellow, hard and 
bright. It is a very savage creature ; grasps everything with its paws, 
and if you hit it with a stick, sits upright like a bear, and takes hold of 
it with its mouth. It sleeps all day long, with its head and fore-feet 
under the neck, and roves about in the night-time. As often as it 
drinks, the water spouts forth immediately through the nostrils. 

The Brazilians have also a kind of serpent ahoitt two fatlwms long (!). 
u'itliout legs, with a skin of various colours, and four teeth. The 

Q 



226 THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

tongue is split in the middle, resembling two arrows, and the poison is 
hid in a "bladder in its tail. 

The four-legged creatures, called by the Brazilians tatu and 
tatiipera, by the Spaniards cmnodillos, by the Portuguse encuherto, 
and by the Dutch scliilt-verken (shield-hog), because it is defended 
with scales, like as with an armour, resembles in size and shape 
our hogs ; there are several sorts of them. The uppermost part of 
the body, as well as the head and tail, is covered with bony shields, 
composed of very fine scales. It has on the back seven partitions^ 
betwixt each of which appears a dark brown skin. The head is 
altogether like that of a hog, with a sharp nose, wherewith they grub 
underground ; small eyes, which lie deep in the head ; a little but 
sharp tongue ; dark brown and short ears, without hair or scales, 
the colour of the whole body inclining to red ; the tail in its 
beginning is about four fingers thick, but grows by degrees sharp and 
round to the end, like those of our pigs. But the belly, the breast, 
and legs are without any scales, but covered with a skin not unlike 
that of a goose, and whitish hair of a finger's length. It is generally 
very bulky and fat, living upon maloens and roots, doing considerable 
mischief in the plantations. It loves to rout underground, eats rabbits 
and the dead carcasses of birds or any other carrion ; it drinks much, 
Hves for the most part upon tlie land, yet loves the water and marshy 
places. Its flesh is fit to be eaten. It is caught, like the doe in 
Holland with the rabbits, by sending a small dog abroad, who by his 
barking gives notice where it lurks underground, and so, by digging 
up the ground, it is found and caught. 

The bats in Brazil, called by the inhabitants andirlka, are of the 
size of our crows ; they are very fierce, and bite most violently with 
their sharp teeth. They build their nests in hollow trees and holes. 

The bird called by the Brazilians ipekati apoa, by the Portuguese 
2)ata, is no more than a goose, and for that reason is called by the 
Dutch a wild-goose. It is the size of one of our geese at nine months 
old, and in all other respects resembles them. The belly and under the 
tail, as well as the neck, is covered with white feathers, but on the 
back to the neck, on the wings and head, the feathers are black, inter- 
mixed with some green. There are also black feathers intermixed with 
the white ones on the neck and belly. They are rather larger than our 
geese 5 their bills resemble those of our ducks, are black, and turned at 
the end ; on the top of them grows a broad, round, and black piece of 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 227 

flesh, with white speckles. They are commonly found near the river- 
side, very fleshy and well-tasted. 

The bird called by the Brazilians Toucan (or large bill) is the size of a 
wood-pigeon. It has a crop about the breast about three or four fingers 
in length, of a saffron colour, with high red- coloured feathers round the 
edges, which are yellow on the breast, black on the back and other 
parts of the body. Its bill is very large — the length of a palm of the 
hand, yellow without, and red vathin. It is almost incredible how so 
small a bird can manage so large a bill but that it is thin and light. 

The bird called by the Brazilians Kokoi is a kind of crane, very 
pleasing to the sight, as large as our storks. Bills straight and sharp, 
about six fingers in length, a yellowish colour inclining to green. The 
neck fifteen fingers long, the body ten, the tail five ; their legs covered 
half way with feathers about eight fingers in length, the remaining part 
being six and a half ; the neck and throat are white, both sides of the 
head black, mixed with ash-colour ; on the neck beautiful plumes. The 
flesh is like that of a crane — it is eatable. 

All these particulars from the old historian must be accepted with a 
grain of caution, and looked upon much as we glance at those para- 
graphs in newspapers which are headed " Curious if True." 




TOKTOISE. 



228 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 




CHAPTER X. 

Starting for Eio in tlie slilp Phantasm— The Organ Mountains— Splendid Pane- 
rama- TaMng in Coal— Exempt from Customs— Hospitable Entertainment, 
find a Dance of " Niggers "—The Bay— The Peak of Corcoyado- Eailways 
— " I am young and happy, and not ambitious to be killed "—Hospitality 
—Rio— The Markets -In the Woodsy-Foliage- CaUing your Flowers Hard 
Names— Tn the Woods again— Amongst the Palms— A Forest full of 
Monkeys— On the River— Visiting a Coffee Plantation— Out again upon the 
broad Amazon— Native Indians— A Dance-A Challenge— The Difficulty : 
shaU it be "Pop Goes the Weasel ?"— More Dancing — ReHgious 
Festivity— The Altar of the Household— In the Woods again— On the Sea 
Beach— Turtle -Alligators' Eggs— Beautiful Foliage— Going a-Fishing— 
Aquatic Birds— On the Rio Negro— The Victoria Regia— The Land 
Palms — Back towards Rio. 

IEAVING the old naturalist to spin still further yarns, some of 
-^ which, ir properly tested, would turn out speedily but ropes of 
sand, let us find our way again to modern Brazil, following somewhat 
in the wate of M. Agassiz. 

It is early morning as our good ship Phantasm draws near to Rio ; 
we recognise Cape Frio, and a few hours later receive the agreeable 
news that the Organ mountains are in view— a splendid chain of moun- 
tains with summits two or three thousand feet in height ; rugged tops 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



229 



and sharp declines toward the sea. As we approach the bay the scenery- 
becomes wondrously grand — something new, something surprising, at 
every turn ; an immense expanse of water, a grand panorama of lofty 
heights, and jutting into the sea the well-known rock which bears the 
name of Pao de Assucar. 




SOUTH AMERICAN FORES'] 



We reach our place of anchorage, but the x^rospect is so delightful 
that we are in no hurry to leave our floating mansion. And the captain 
is all courtesy and attention, and would not that we should hurry our- 
selves upon any account. The scenery is really charming, and its novelty 
renders its natural charms doubly attractive ; at last, however, we put 
off to a small island, and our ship takes in her coal and other 
necessaries. 

Thanks to being in good company, and thanks to our letters of 
introduction, thanks to a beneficent fortune, we are spared the ravages 



230 TIIE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 

of the Custom House officers. Brazilian Custom House officials are 
exceedingly like to their brethren all the world over ; they seem to 
rejoice in the little brief authority committed to their hands, and to like 
nothing so well as to tumble out the contents of your boxes and leave 
you mourning over the debris. But we are spared this annoyance, and 
a light vehicle wafts us to the elegant mansion of a gentleman, from 
whom we expect and receive the most hospitable entertainment. Eat, 
drink, and be m^erry ; but we can scarcely eat or drink for the strange 
sights and sounds around — every minute a new surprise ! What gorgeous 
foliage ! What grand mountains ! AVhat a charmingly laid out garden ! 
New wonders all through the day, and as the silver crescent moon 
rises in the steel-blue sky, while yet the sun is sinking to rest beneath a 
cloudy canopy of gold and crimson, come scores of negroes from the 
fields — scores upon scores, black as ebony, and somewhat fantastic in 
their attire. They have taken their evening meal and have " spruced " 
themselves up for a bib of a holiday, and soon they are in the midst of 
it. The elders squat on the ground, their dancing days being over, but 
the young folks are bent on Terpsichorean enjoyment. The girls are 
addicted to white dresses and turbans made of gaudy handkei'chiefs ; 
the men have showy coloured pantaloons and white shirts. How the 
girls coquet ! Black or white, coquetry is an art that most girls under- 
stand, and the airs and graces of the fashionable belle are closely 
imitated by the " darkies." Now strikes up the music, and away go the 
dancers into all the mysteries of the fandango. As the dance proceeds 
the dancers become more and more excited and whirl round and round 
like humming-tops, singing some strange wild chorus which ends in a 
shriek. This is genuine dancing by the light of the moon. It is pro- 
tracted to a somewhat late hour, and it is a sight once seen not to be 
easily forgotten. 

Look over the bay, how it ripples gently under the silver light ! 
See here and there lamps gleaming out on the water ; see the lofty 
mountain — giant sentinel — rising up high into the calm sky. What a 
scene of calm and peace there is over it all ! 

But now we must advance upon Brazil ; we expect to see strange 
sights, but all our conception of the magnificence of the scenery is far 
exceeded by the reality. We see Nature under an entirely new aspect, 
and the sensations awakened it is impossible to describe. To look on 
the grand old mountains richly clothed with tropical vegetation forms 
an epoch in one's life. Then the marvellous forests, rich, dense, myste- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 231 

rious ; the lofty trees, the extraordinary foliage, the gigantic parasites ; 
nothing whatever can be compared to them in the temperate zone. 

Amid all this abundant display of the affluence of N^ature, where 
man seems indeed but of small account, we are surprised, almost 
shocked, by the scream of a railway whistle. What ! iron roads here ? 
Locomotives in the primeval forest? Even so— and tunnels through 
the mountains ! It shocks your sensibility, of course ; you are aware of 
the incongruity of the whole thing ; but civilisation must advance, and 
it takes for its symbol the theodolite. 

Enter one of the carriages — comfortable, commodious, even elegant. 
The obliging directors are good enough to place it in the front of the 
locomotive, so that our view of the Sierra may not be disturbed by 
engine smoke and showers of sparks from the stoker's fire. You will 
not hesitate to enter ; you have been on all sorts of lines — English, 
French, German. North American — you know the risk and do not think 
about it. Not so with a charming Brazilian lady, recently married, who, 
in answer to an invitation to accompany us, says, very gravely, " I am 
young and happy, and am not ambitious to be killed." 

Through scenery never to be forgotten, v/ith glimpses of such 
glorious vegetation as never could occur to the wildest dreamer ; 
through a region of rich coffee plantations stretching out far and wide 
on every side. These plantations supply the chief traffic of the line. 
Enormous quantities of the precious grain are being continually con- 
vejxd by it to the town. Not far from the last station on the line is a 
large coifee estate with a fazenda very noble in its proportions. The 
estate yields five or six hundred tons of coffee in good seasons. These 
fazendas are buildings of a singular appearance. They are only one 
story high, but cover a very large space of ground. Here, shut out 
from all the world beside — isolated — an old chieftain in his feudal 
castle, the proprietor resides for some months in the year. The house 
is of course well supplied with everything that can be required, and 
there my baron lives — monarch of all he surveys, and ready — ay, and 
more than ready — to give ample hospitality to friend or stranger. 
Hospitality, by the way, is certainly a striking feature in the character 
of the Brazilians. They are generous to a fault, and while giving warm 
and hearty welcome, as we all do, to bosom cronies, they are never 
forgetful to entertain strangers. 

The railway work, with its bridges and tunnels, is a marvel of 
engineering skill. AVell planned and well carried out, it reflects great 



232 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

credit on the energy and enterprise of a people we are too often accus- 
tomed to regard as given over to voluptuous sloth. 

Now let us leave our carriage, glance for a moment on the Eio 
Parahyba — perhaps drop a line and catch a couple of strange fish, the 
like whereof we never saw before ; then turning, let us look round on 
the luxuries of Nature — flower-beds of immense extent, and groves of 
magnificent palms, that remind us of the colonnades in the temples of 
old Egypt. 

We have to make the ascent of the famous Peak of Corcovado, and 
we begin our journey in a comfortable carriage, but presently we have 
to leave our vehicle and mount horse. The winding road is excellent 
in dry weather, but it is slippery and dangerous after a hea^^" fall of 
rain. Of course we are favoured with fine weather. The ride is 
delicious ; the scenery exceeding everything on v\''hich our eyes have 
yet rested ; it is superb, and the air is laden with the sweet perfume 
of the forests which lie down deep below us. Foliage of all colours is 
massed together in picturesque confusion ; the stately palms rise up and 
stretch over the road a canopy of verdure ; now and again a little foun- 
tain leaps into life and sends a slender rill down the mountain side. And 
when at last we reach the summit, what language can convey an idea 
of the extent, variety, and grandeur of the panorama ? There, still and 
beautiful in its placidity, is the bay, encompassed by the smiling land, 
except at that part which opens into the ocean. Dotted over the 
surface of the bay are islands which from our point of view seem 
scarcely larger than pebbles ; the mountains, clad in diversified foKage 
encircling the bay, seem to lose their heads in the clouds, forming 
altogether a marvellous picture. But the chief charm of the landscape 
;"s, after all, its great extent; we cannot well.^ descry the individual 
objects which make np the whole, but yonder mass of darkness is a 
forest, and yonder strip of green a prairie, andCaway yonder, a mass of 
dazzling colour, a sierra ; those ribbons of silver are rivers or streams ; 
there are brightly-coloured shadows in the blue depths of the bay, 
reflections of houses, forests, gardens, mountains, and the deep blue 
above ; there is over it all a grandeur only to be realised when seen. 

The summit of the peak is surrounded by a wall, as on one side the 
descent is almost vertical, and a false step would be sudden death. "We, 
although boastful of strong heads, turn giddy at^ the awful depth, and 
half-a-dozen horrible images arise of what might be done in madness, 
fury, jealousy, revenge, from that lofty, lonely height. Another glance 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



233 




234 THE GOLDEX AJMERICAS. 

at the beautiful prospect, and the " shades of eveiimg o'er us stealing'* 
warn us to return. The descent is effected without accident, and we 
look up from Rio at the giant rock, and can scarcely credit our own 
senses that we stood on its summit but a little while back. 

Let us bide awhile in Rio. Whither away ? We turn our feet 
towards the market. There is much to be seen. What piles of 
orauges ! What resplendent flowers ! What splendid vegetables ! Do 
we long for Covent Garden ? Not at all. Here are picturesque groups 
of negroes; not fixed as statues, not toiling under a driver's whip, 
but giving themselves np, as it were, to the pleasures of commerce — gay, 
easy, witty, and not by any means iU-lookiug. They are a fine, athletic 
race, with far better physiognomies than the blacks in the United 
States ; they were brought originally from Western Africa, and are as 
"black as black." The women are exceedingly well grown — ^models of 
beauty so far as the figure is concerned. There are a great many 
negroes — both men and women — actively engaged in the market, selling 
their wares with such alluring arts and extravagant encomiums as cannot 
be withstood. The women all adopt high muslin turbans and shawls 
of many colours, which they arrange in the most captivating but appa- 
rency negligent manner. See, two ladies of colour quarrel in the 
market as ladies will ; see with what effect they will ai-range and re- 
arrange their shawl, now taking it completely off, now makiug us 
think they would fling it from them, now gathering it solemnly about 
them v/ith all the airs of a tragedy queen. Most of the women are 
remarkable for the beauty of their arms and the elegance of their hands. 
Those who have infants generally bring them with them to market in a 
sprt of little hammock slung on their backs. The majority of the 
negroes from the Mina district are Mohammedans, and preserve, it is 
said, their faith in the prophet while they engage in the religious rites 
of the Roman Catholic Church. They are good-humoured, industrious, 
perhaps a little too talkative, but then, you know — for this applies more 
especially to the women — what women are not ? 

Among the objects of special interest which we see here for the 
first time is the colossal fruit of the sapucaia, a species of lecythis which 
belongs to the same family as the Brazil nut. There are many varieties 
of this fruit, the largest of which is a kind of apple, very well known 
as the melon. 

The v/oods which cover the hills of the Tijuca are very beautiful, 
and of luxuriant vegetation. But there is a difficulty. We are, for 



THE GOLDEN AJMERICAS. 235 

instance, surrounded by new and surprising specimens of arboriculture 
and of floriculture, which, by the way, have never known any culture ; 
it is quite true that the rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but 
we like to know it by its name, and the very name calls up "a thing of 
beauty," and a sweet scent not to be equalled by the perfumer. Well, 
you ask in vain the names of the plants about you. Nobody knows or 
nobody cares to tell. Their magnificent leaves, their gorgeous flowers 
— one can never get at the solution — never know what they are called. 
If you ask a botanist, he invariably gives you the scientific name, which 
is as far from the popular name as heaven from earth — " Yonder, that 
magnificent tree — Oreodoxa oleracea." Of course we have all due 
respect for scientific nomenclature, but when we ask the name of an 
elegant tree or a splendid flower, we do like to be answered honestly, 
and not to have brought into the simplicity of common language the 
majesty of an ofiicial Latin appellation. Thomas Hood rebuked us long- 
ago for calling our lovely flowers such hard names ; sure 'tis a pity we 
did not give heed to the exhortation. 

But let us a-hunting go. We have the invitation of one who can 
well aiford hospitality, and who is the very man to be hospitable. His 
f azenda is quite a wilderness of rooms, with no upstairs — a house which 
may almost be said to extend over acres. Now we should like to 
capture a wild boar — at least a peccary ; we should like to snare a few 
birds, or bring them down with a clean shot '; a monkey or two would 
not be objectionable. Well, we must try our fortune and live the lives 
of hunters, and be more diplomatic than violent if we would succeed. 
We can easily find nice little stcitions in the forests, leafy hermitages 
where we may lie perdu and take our opportunity for striking our game. 
We can — or our coloured brethren can for us — carry such things as we 
may need to recruit exhausted nature into the grand old woodlands, 
and chatting and smoking, with an occasional " bang !" which wakes 
up all the echoes, and scares a covey of birds if it kills one, we pass the 
day, coming back to the fazenda in the evening, there to realise the 
idea of the feudal age. 

We have a great hall in the fazenda ; do not call it a dining-room, 
for it bears no resemblance to one. Here there is a large table running 
all the length of the chamber, with a cross table at the uppermost end. 
Here sit our host and we his honoured guests, and down the long table 
sit inferior people, the place of Vice being occupied by the overseer of the 
estate. The dishes, the appointments, the quantity of solid food con- 



236 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

sumed — all these things heighten and strengthen the idea of a baronial 
banquet ; it is thoroughly feudal from beginning to end. But the 
scenery — ah ! the scenery is not such as is to be found in Europe. 

We must not leave our friend the owner of the fazenda without 
visiting his coffee plantations and getting as much information as we 
can as to his methods of management. Everything is, indeed, so well 
done here that we are warranted in regarding it as a model establish- 
ment. It stands at the foot of the Sierra da Babylonia. The dwelling- 
house is commodious, and has a snow-white front, to which a green 
lattice gives a cheerful relief. Its ground plan is that of a long 
parallelogram ; the orangery is placed near the house on the ascent of 
a hill, and is exceedingly well kept, the pale yellow fruit contrasting 
beautifully with the deep green foliage. On the other side of the path 
leading to the house are the gardens, admirably arranged, and offering 
a rich mass of form and colour to the eye. Beyond lie the coffee plan- 
tations, extending over the hills for several miles. The fields nearest 
to the house are those in which the young plants are nurtured — a sort 
of nursery coffee ground ; here they are allowed to remain for a year. 
The plants are then transferred to the place which they are definitely 
to occupy. In the third year the young coffee^" plants begin to yield 
fruit, but the first harvest is very small. If the plant be healthy and 
planted in a favourable soil, it will go on gradually improving, and will 
sometimes yield two harvests in one year, during a period of thirty 
years. When the land appears to be exhausted no effort is made at 
restoration ; it is simply abandoned, and a new location taken up, and 
a new portion of land brought under culture. There can be no doubt 
that many of these ancient plantations might, with no great trouble or 
expense, be again brought under culture, and that an immense extent 
of virgin forest is being unnecessarily sacrificed to the indolence or 
carelessness of the planter. Time, the Great Teacher, will put this right. 
Another reform which is greatly needed is that of the construction of 
roads from the various coffee plantations to a high road leading to the 
seats of commerce. At the present time but little has been done in this 
way, and the means of transport are altogether inadequate to meet the 
necessities of the case. Of course the iron roads are the best roads of 
all, but there is in many cases no proper communication between the 
plantation and the railway station," and the ordinary plan is for the 
negroes to carry loads of coffee on their heads, and thus descend the 
mountains as best they may. ; 



THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 237 

Let us for awhile visit Para. The voyage is not accomplished 
without some misadventures, and we enter the harbour in a pelting 
shower of rain ; but we have suffered no real hardship — such a thing 
would be impossible in that excelleot vessel the Phantasm — and when 
we drop the anchor we drop along vrith it all memories of storms. There 
is a road bearing the name of Nazareth, and it is planted with trees on 
either side for the distance of three or four miles. The effect is 




THE WELLIISGTONIA GIGANTEA. 



very beautiful. The trees are chiefly mangoes and palms. Here we 
notice a splendid palm which has become the victim of a gigantic 
creeper. The parasite has completely wound the tree in its treacherous 
and fatal embraces, and ere long the stately palm will and must perish ; 
the hour of the tree's decay will seal the doom of the parasite. Beyond, 
on either hand, above, around, are the most attractive diversities of 
vegetation. We pass by the skeleton of a house, whether a ruin or a 
house abandoned when half -built we know not, but it has no windows, 
no doors, only the open spaces left, and the foliage, pitiful as the red- 
breasts in the nursery story, has covered it with leaves — rich, full of 
all varieties of form and colour — vegetation has clothe i the house with 



238 THE GOLDEN AJMERICAS. 

beauty; the framework of the window is completely hidden in the 
superabundance of foliage, and within the house there is what appears 
to be a splendid garden, and there are found birds of gayest plumage. 
It is like a glimpse of fairyland. 

On reaching Para, on the banks of one of the tributaries of the 
Amazon, w^e again fall in with the Indians, and have another oppor- 
tunity of admiring their wonderfully beautiful symmetry and even 
elegance of deportment. They, like all Brazilians, are hospitable to 
the extent of their ability, and the good wives are ready with cocoa or 
tapioca, and the men willing to please us with a trip in their skin boats 
or canoes. 

What a delightful change does this quiet life afford from the noise, 
bustle, and confusion of city life, of rapid travelling, of over-crowded 
hotels, and the like ! It is the abode for hermits — wandering in such 
a wilderness would be delightful. You remember the old story of the 
good father who quitted the monastic home one day for a Kttle ramble, 
and was led on by the sweet singing of a bird, until on his return he 
found that more than a hundred years had passed. One is reminded 
of the legend by the desert, which in all the wild luxuriance and 
splendour of uncultivated nature, rejoices and blossoms as the rose. 

Here is the little village of Breves. Its population, like that of all 
the establishments on the Lower Amazon, consists of a mixture of races. 
Here we may notice the regular features and the clear skin of the white 
man, the dark skin and black locks of the Indian ; we may trace in 
several both of the men and women traces of the African blood, but the 
prevailing type is Indian. Come into the cabin from which such curious 
sounds proceed, and behold, we are in a menagerie. All round the 
walls — occupying, indeed, every available space — are parrots, paroquets, 
and monkeys, all in good condition and for sale. We can be accommo- 
dated, if we require it, with insects and serpents, but w^e prefer the 
plumage of the parrot and the grinning face of the monkey. Monkey ! 
Does it look like many men we wot of? Does not he look sly 
enough to warrant the story of his being able to speak if he would, but, 
cunning rogue, preferring a dumb life and idleness to talk and work ? 
Idleness — yes, he is idleness offering temptation to you know who to 
set his four hands to mischief ; mischief is his very element, and nothing 
seems to amuse him more than a high game of jinks with a philo- 
sophical tortoise. 

^Bxt morning wc ascend in our boat the Rio Aturia, a canal of I 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 239 

some extent, and affording an ample opportunity of studying the rich 
verdure on either bank. Above all other forms of vegetable life the 
palms are the most conspicuous, both for their gigantic size and extreme 
elegance of outline. Leaving the Aturia we penetrate another canal, 
and as the sun goes down come to a second halting-place. Hospitality 
itself from our Indian friends, and cleanliness and regard to health 
unknown to many of our peasantry or poor town artisans. The Indian 
cabin is the produce of the forest; the trunks of trees support it, 
branches of trees cover it, the interstices are all filled up with leaves. 
There is a sheltered walk outside, and the inside is divided into two 
compartments, the sleeping and the waking rooms — the room tolive in 
and the room to repose. But your Indian ventilates his bedroom all 
day long, and hangs the hammock outside to have all the benefit of the 
fresh air ; it is beautiful, clean, and sweet, and is suspended in the bed- 
room only when it is wanted. They do these things differently at 
home. We have often thought it would be a great improvement in the 
sanatory arrangements if hammocks could be introduced into our 
cottages instead of fixed bedsteads, or a villainous bed spread on the 
floor. See how easily it might be put away, how clean and pure it 
might be kept, with less trouble and less cost than is now devoted to 
stump or truckle beds. 

We visit the depths of the forest under Indian guidance, and find the 
most primitive of bridges thrown over little streams — just the trunk of a 
tree, nothing more, but a trunk which bountiful Nature has busily 
adorned with strange varieties of vegetation. Our guide tells us to 
have no fear, and we try to follow his example of lightly skipping over 
dangerous bits of ground. Everything is colossal ; it seems as though 
Nature dwarfed man— as if the men who traversed these marvellous 
forests should be gigantic, if but to cope with tree, and fruit, and 
flower. 

Out again upon the broad Amazon. We lounge on the deck of our 
vessel and watch the setting sun. What splendour it throws over the 
whole scene ! what rich colouring it adds to that which is already 
radiant with the hues of the iris ! And when the evening comes, and 
we are smoking quietly and indulging in the luxury of doing nothing, 
how clear is the sky ! how profoundly still the water ! later, when the 
stars shine out, how brilliant are the stars ! Gliding placidly along, the 
vegetation on both banks of the river seems to grow more and more 

"'"■ ^'""""•'"■'"""•'"""" '^""*""""" 



240 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

a broad lake and it is morning, and we are at another Indian station, 
where we receive every attention, and of a superior kind than we have 
yet experienced on the voyage. 

The cabin where we are entertained is much larger and altogether 
better arranged than are the majority. There is an air of greater taste 
and refinement about it, traceable, we suspect, to our pretty hostess, who 
is really pretty and has a sweet voice, though a little infantine. Every- 
thing is exquisitely bright and clean, and the windows — of course 
UDglazed — are guarded by palm-leaves, not stretched over them, but 
hanging in full bunches so as to be stirred by the passing breeze and 




with little glints of sunshine that 
are never oppressive. There is everything necessary for use — nay, more, 
there are many luxuries ; and the good man of the house, a fisherman 
— all the Indians are fishermen — ^is very proud to receive us, and does 
his best to make us welcome. He is not so happy in his way of doing 
things as his wife. What man can hope to compete with a woman in 
little delicate attentions ? He is withal somewhat taciturn and gloomy, 
but the voices of his children — and he has his quiver filled with these — 
call light into his eyes and something like a smile on his lips. Well, 
you are right — a glass of caxuca cheers him up amazingly, and then will 
he take out his violin — oh, such a violin ! — and play us a tune — oh, 
such a tune ! — but it sets the babies' feet a-danciug. He has a neigh- 
bour, a well-made fellow, who is aware of that circumstance, and poses 
when he talks and rides on horseback in the style of a true cavalier — 



IHE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



241 



a good fellow at heart, who cultivates manioc and is never tired of 
admiring his handsome wife. Now it chances one evening that we are 
all together, and perhaps our host's barbitone, or perhaps the jerks of 
baby's feet, set us to ask a favour. We should be delighted to see a 
native Indian dance. There is reluctance, but the reluctance is over- 
come, and the four dance. Is it to be called dancing ? It is a grave 
and serious business ; they move slowly, majestically ; they snap thumb 
and finger in lieu of castanets ; they are throughout exceedingly sedate . 




PRIinXIVE BEtDGE. 



t docs not in the least resemble a dance of " niggers/' And now, with 
no pretension to a pun, the ball rests with them, and they challenge us 
for an exhibition of our national dance. AVhat is it ? Were we of the 
Emerald Isle they should have a jig and no mistake about it ; 
if we claimed Scotia for our land, a three-reel or a strathspey should 
be promptly executed ; but what shall we do as modern English ? There 
are not enough of us to do Sir Roger ; we'll waltz. Exquisite ! beauti- 
f ul ! Our Indian friends are thoroughly delighted. AVe English have 
the reputation of caring for little that is not strictly practical, just as 
the devotional spirit of the Yankee is declared to be confined to the 
sole worship of the omnipotent dollar ; and to dance — to waltz for ths 

R 



242 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

entertainment of Brazilian Indians is sometliing to be written in 
books. 

We subsequently, however, have an 0]3portunity of seeing tlie 
Indians less severe in tbe dancing exercise — less solemn and dignified 
in the mysterious rites of the "light, fantastic toe." Before we take 
our leave of the village there is the celebration of a/e/e, in our honour 
chiefly, we have reason to believe, but ostensibly in honour of saint 
somebody. The mother of our host's wife — one of the most hideous of 
old women — arrives early in the morning, and with some other elderly 
ladies makes a considerable to-do before a common showy-looting 
wooden box, which we afterwards ascertain to be the family altar.. 
They scrape and shuffle, bow and twist, and sing prayers, or hymns 
which are exceedingly doleful to hear. The religious part of; tjie day's» 
ceremonial having been completed, the festivities begin, audi we have 
ample opportunity of witnessing various kinds of dances, which are 
mostly accompanied with a wild chant. After it is all over we ha-ve a._ 
little refreshment, and then take leave of our entertainers, not, withoviti \ 
some reluctance on both sides, for they have shown themselves full of 
generosity, and we trust we have not been ungrateful. 

One thing there is to notice about these Indians : the men have a 
very easy time of it, and would not on any account take part in the hard 
work of the establishment. This is all done by the, women and children, 
and with the children the boys are precocious in their assertion of man- 
hood and consequent exemption from drudgery. We find this arrange- 
ment and unequal division of toil prevailing among nearly all wild 
tribes. Courtesy to the fair sex, politeness, attentioUj a regard for 
their comfort and convenience, and a desire to secure them from rough 
work or hard usage are the marks of civilisation. The more civilised 
we are the better are our mothers and wives and daughters cared for — 
it is only a brute that would ill-treat women — only a coward who would 
insult them, only a fool who would endeavour to behave to them as if 
they were in any way inferior. Now the Brazilians are not cruel to 
their women, but they have enough of the barbarian in them to let 
them toil and drudge in work which should be done by men. 

And now we have reached the town of Manaos ; it is but a small 
place — a cluster of houses, many of them fallen into ruin, but the town 
still asserts itself and has its Treasury and Legislative Chamber, its 
Post Office, its president's residence, and the inevitable Custom House. 
The site of the town is happily chosen at the junction of the Rio Negro, *" 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 243 

the Amazon, and the Solimoens. Insignificant as the place now is, it 
will probably become a great centre of commerce and navigation ; but 
when we consider the immense extent of country immediately sur- 
rounding it still occupied by virgin forests — forests almost impenetrable 
— we feel that a considerable time must elapse before the trade and 
commerce of the locality become of much importance. 

The forest scenery around Manaos is wonderfully attractive. Here 
we found less palms, although some of these trees exhibit colossal pro- 
portions and are remarkable for vigour and beauty. But here we found 
the Sumaumeira {Eriodendron swnauma), a gigantic tree which, unlike its 
brethren of the forest, periodically sheds its leaves. The good people 
of Manaos make evening promenades in the woods, and long lines — 
Indian file — of Brazilians and negroes may be seen descending to the 
river with water-jars on their heads. The effect is very pretty. 

ISTot far off is Tabatinga, a frontier town of Brazil adjoining Peru. 
It is supposed to be a military station, and the idea is maintained by 
three indifferent pieces of artillery and half-a-dozen soldiers lounging 
in the sun — at least, such is my impression. Our stay is very short, and 
our next station is Teffe. 

Now of all the small stations we have visited on the Amazon, Teffe 
is without question the most agreeable. A sandy beach, only covered 
during the rainy season, separates the town from the river. The houses 
are of a dazzling white, and are embowered in palm and orange trees. 
The effect is very delightful. Beyond the town are verdant lands, 
forming a gradual ascent, and here herds of cattle and flocks of sheep 
are grazing. The hill is crowned by a forest — a forest which furnishes 
some charming walks both morning and evening. 

Thanks to the good offices of friends, we get comfortably housed. 
Our dwelling is pleasantly situated, commanding good views both right 
and left, and the frontage looking on the sandy beach, the river, and 
the opposite shore. It is all very lively and interesting. There is an 
orangery, and more than one reservoir of turtle — O Calipash and Calipee ! 
excellent turtle — but an ordinary article of food here. The interior is 
well arranged and furnished, considering the climate and the place, and, 
moreover, considering that we are birds of passage, there is little left 
for us to desire. 

Perhaps it might add to our comfort if we had attendants more after 
the old pattern, but domestics are not easily procured. It is the fishing 
season (September — October), and the men are busy drying and salting 



2U THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

the fish. The season also is coming on for hunting for turtles' eggs, also 
for the labours of the field, but, more and above all, the Indian has but 
little Hking for household service, and it is probable that if you arrange 
with them to-day they wiU decamp to-morrow. An occasional glass of 
caxuca is, to the men at all events, a great attraction, and this wiU 
sometimes induce a servant to remain when no other consideration 
would. Our dinner is served from a neighbouring house, and the 
waiter arrives punctually with the mats. Our waiter is an elderly man ; 
he wears a pair of cotton drawers, originally white, now of all colours 




and none, which reach to the knee. He has naked feet ; the upper part 
of his body is partially-and very partially-covered with an article of 
raiment which at some primitive period of history may have been recog- 
nised as a blue shirt. On his head he has a straw hat. Our second 
attendant indulges in but little drapery, making up for lack of dress 
material by ear-rings, nose-ring, lip-ring, &c., all of a heavy pattern. 

Stroll out into the forest in the early morning, hear the shrill cry of 
the paroquets, and the ceaseless chattering of the monkeys. Leaping 
and climbing in the branches of the trees, these four-handed cousins of 
ours seem to resent the intrusion on their solitude, but with all due 
respect to them we cannot forego the pleasure of the walk. And here 
come troops of women, going to the fields or other work, many with 
babies slung at their backs and with water-pots upon their heads, all 
the natives very courteous, giving us " Good day" cheerfully. Stroll 
out before our house in the evening, when the setting sun crimsons 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



245 




2i6 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

the Amazons and gilds the coming night. Here are a little company 
of Indians taking their supper on the sands ; yonder is their canoe 
loaded with fish. Presently the Indians will kindle a fire and prepare 
the fish for use at home or for sale. They have also a good load of 
turtles' eggs. The scene is altogether highly interesting and picturesque. 
Next day we pay a visit to the country residence of a cultivator, 
a residence called, as these country houses are, a sitio. The trip is made 
in a canoe, and is highly enjoyable. Our host is thoroughly hospitable, 
well sustaining the proverbial character of the Brazihans, and the 
coffee and manioc cake which are served immediately on our arrival are 
very acceptable. 

We have here the opportunity of examining the beach of the river, 
and learn that it is the favourite resort of turtles, who lay their egg's in 
the sand. But we are also told that at some parts the alligators use it 
for the same purpose. Some of these alligators are formidable monsters, 
and the natives have a great terror of them, as indeed they well may 
have. It is not pleasant when you are taking a comfortable bath, for 
example, to find that an alligator has taken it into its long head to 
share it with you, and will probably make an effort to lunch very much 
at your expense. With regard to the turtles' eggs, the natives are very 
ingenious in their mode of discovering them, and at one season of the 
year it becomes a profitable pursuit. 

The Indian on the look-out for turtle eggs walks somewhat rapidly 
along the sands, as if he were simply bent on getting over the ground, 
and had really no other intention. But by what we can only account 
for as a peculiar instinct he stops suddenly when he comes to a buried 
nest, and, throwing up the sand, finds his prize eight or ten inches 
below the surface. There are, no doubt, some peculiar indications of 
the right spot, but they are so slight as to escape any but long- 
practised eyes. Besides the turtles and the alligators, various kinds of 
fish and birds lay their eggs in the sand. 

The extraordinary luxuriance of the foliage and the heat of the 
climate make house-building a very light and superficial affair. The 
palm yields its treasures for parlour and kitchen and hall ; most of all — 
most grateful of all— for a shaded verandah, where we may doze 
away the burning heat of day. A bunch of palm-leaves will shelter 
us from the sun; a bunch of palm-leaves will shelter us from the 
shower — to what uses can we not turn this beautiful and bountiful tree? 

Let us go a-fishing, not with net or line, but with harpoon and 



THE GOLDEN AlVIERICAS. 247 

javelin ; "we can, under instruction, spear a few fish — the Indians are 
very dexterous at this sport. Let us go shooting in the depths of the 
forest. But the forest has no path for our feet in the direction we 
desire to take. We arm ourselves with big knives and hatchets, and 
cut and chop our way through. Here is a splendid piece of water, 
almost surrounded by gigantic rushes ; here are flocks of aquatic birds, 
who, probably scenting, mischief in our coming, fill the air with their 
shrill cries and rise up above our heads. We bag some of them, and 
while so occupied our Indian servants spread our mats under the 
shelter of the giant trees, and there we eat and drink our fill, and 
sleep and dream of fairyland. Some of the birds we have taken are 
exceedingly beautiful in form and of a snowy- white plumage. 

On the Amazon again : a couple of alligators putting their pointed 
heads out of the water to watch us put off, perhaps hungering after us, 
perhaps wishing to taste what kind of meat we are made of, as in 
Arctic regions we are somewhere told the bears showed a peculiar 
desire to know the flavour of Dutch flesh. Away on the broad bosom 
of the Amazon, and in and out its many winding tributaries. We are 
to visit Lake Hyarmary, and in due time we reach the neighbouring 
village. At first sight it scarcely gives us the idea of an Indian village 
at aU, as it is composed of a number of sitios scattered here and there. 
We are well received, and lodged on the brow of a hill on the other 
side of which is the lake. The lake" is of great extent and very 
beautiful, and a sail on its waters is delightful. A little incident 
which occurs during our stay here marks the primitive habits of the 
Brazilians. On account of the visit of the president of the district 
there is a great dinner given by the owners of the sitios, and many of 
the well-to-do Brazilian Indians are invited. They come with their 
ladies — in fact, are largely represented by ladies — in white dresses, 
with roses or jasmine in their hair. The table is spread with excellent 
taste and in European fashion. But the Brazilian ladies are ill at ease ; 
they use or misuse their knives and forks, and are as awkward with 
them as we might be with Chinese chopsticks. At last a Spanish 
cavalier takes pity on them, and says, "Away with etiquette; follow 
your own fashion, ladies, and eat with your fingers." They laughingly 
acknowledge the familiarity by adopting the suggestion, and soon 
satisfy their appetites with thumbs and fingers. There is a dance in 
the evening to the music of a violin or violoncello and a flute, and the 
festivities are protracted far into next day. 



248 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Festivities ! These Brazilians seem never weary of them. When 
we get back to Manaos the whole place is in a state of marvellous 
agitation, which has lasted some days. A ball is to be organised in 
honour of somebody or other, and the questions are being pressed by 
the less informed on the better informed as to where the ball is to take 
place, on what day, at what hour, and private confabulations are being 
held by the women folk as to what they shall put on, and how they 
shall best secure the truly feminine triumph of being the best-dressed 
lady in the room. Well, the day of the ball is ojficially announced, 
and it is to take place at the palace ! The palace is the name invariably 
given to the residence of the president, and no matter how small and 
insignificant the house may be the pompous title is bestowed upon it. 
The night arrives. It is all that can be desired. Carriages being 
totally unknown in Manaos, we walk to the palace by the light of a 
lantern — we walk carefully, seeing that we are in full dress, and have 
a painful apprehension that we shall enter the palace gates with soiled 
plumage. We are saved this annoying degradation, at all events. 
What a display ! Silk and satin, lace and muslin, and complexions 
running the whole gamut of colour from black to white, with some 
very good specimens of copper skins. We are pleased to find that the 
black ladies are treated with precisely the same respect as is shown to 
the whites, and that miserable and wicked distinction of colour seen 
in the United States of North America is happily "conspicuous by 
absence." It is not often, indeed, that a pure negro is found in 
fashionable society, but the mulattoes are very numerous. On their 
arrival at the ball the ladies are conducted to the couches which are 
ranged around the room. Occasionally a cavalier will summon sufficient 
courage to pass along the line of fire, or take his seat for awhile to have 
a little chat. But it is not until the dancing really commences that 
anything approaching to gaiety sets in. At intervals tea and other 
refreshments are circulated, and punctually to the hour supper is 
served. Each lady is conducted to the supper table by a cavalier, who 
is, of course, as all dancing attendants always are, all courtesy and 
attention. Then comes the ever-to-be-deplored speech-making, during 
which some of us get back to the ball-room, and as the dancing re- 
commences there is heavy firing heard, and the steamer comes in from 
Para with the news of a Brazilian victory, which news is received with 
great applause. We get another invitation to another ball to-morrow, 
to celebrate the glorious triumph of Brazilian arms. 






THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 



249 




250 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

The district of the Manas, a thriving settlement, is very interesting, 
and we make several excursions in the surrounding neighbourhood. 
The prosperity of the place is mainly traceable to the exertions of 
M. Michelis, who has resided there for five-and-twenty years. The dwel- 
lings of the Indians can scarcely claim the dignity of being called 
houses : they are simply cabins thatched with straw. The residence of 
M. Michelis is tolerably well built, and the church is a neat structure 
with a wooden cross before the door. But, notwithstanding the humble 
appearance of the place, the people are remarkably intelligent, moral, 
and industrious, and devote themselves to the cultivation of the 
guarana with considerable success. 

In visiting another village we make the acquaintance of theManda- 
rincas, a civilised tribe of Indians, and are by them very kindly enter- 
tained. At the entrance to their village is a church, built entirely by 
themselves. It is capable of accommodating five or six hundred 
persons; the walls are of clay, gaily painted on the inside with pigments 
extracted by the Indians from the leaves and roots of native plants. 
There is a large wooden font just within the door ; the altar is gaily 
decorated, and in a niche above it is a rude carving of the Virgin and 
Child. The paintings are very rough, and resemble the stars and other 
devices with which boys of an artistic turn delight to embellish their 
kites. Service is seldom performed in the church, but a priest visits 
the station at certain intervals, says mass, christens the children, and 
ties in bonds of wedlock any couples who desire it. A quiet, simple, 
primitive people, these Indians are devoutly religious after their 
fashion, and their lives might shame many who know their creed 
better. They v^ear the ordinary dress of civilised Indians, the men 
pantaloons and cotton shirts, the women calico dresses, with their hair 
drawn up to the top of the head. Two of these people — a man and a 
woman — are, "With the exception of their faces, completely tattooed in a 
curious network pattern, which when the upper part of their bodies is 
exposed, gives them a very singular appearance ; the lines, which are 
stained blue, cover the throat, breast, and arms, and intersect each 
other so as to form small diamonds, not unlike the patchwork of a 
harlequin's jacket. There is an old woman also with a tattooed face 
stained blue, her eyes surrounded by lines in the shape of a pair of 



Returning to Manas, we go a-fishing to catch strange fish, especially 
to secure a specimen of the boto. Our Indian allies are opposed to his 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 251 

capture, having certain superstitious feelings witli regard to him, and 
when, later in the day, we are apprised that a boto has been taken, and 
awaits us in the sand, we are cruelly disappointed to find that the fish 
has suffered sad mutilation, as the Indians have helped themselves to 
various portions to use as charms. 

We explore the forest — abandon ourselves to the luxurious enjoy- 
ment of the great world of vegetation ; at each step new marvels are 
disclosed — everything colossal — everything beautiful. We stop and 
rest beneath the shadow of the palms. 

Palms ! What unrivalled splendour, what gorgeous beauty, do we 
behold ! 

Palms ! But it is not for their beauty alone that palms are worthy 
to be noticed. They are not mere elegant sultanas of the forest, 
spending a luxurious, idle life, rearing their proud heads aloft, and 
waving their delicate plumes to the breeze. Far from it. Palm-trees, 
though they are very beautiful, are still more useful, no vegetable 
genus yielding such a variety of products. 

Now just let us take a glance at these products, and try to 
enumerate some of the chief amongst them. One may be well pardoned 
for skipping over some, iso varied and so numerous are they. 

Let us see, then. There is the cocoa-nut, to begin with : this is the 
product of a palm. And here it is necessary for us to be precise, and 
to state that by the term cocoa-nut we mean the large bullet-like thing, 
with a thick shell, and a central cavity filled with a liquid which people 
are agreed to term milk — not, however, that it resembles the animal 
fluid very much, even in appearance. This explanation is necessary, 
inasmuch as some people confound the palm cocoa-nut with that which, 
being ground in a mill, furnishes the cocoa of the shops. The two 
have not the slightest alliance, botanical or otherwise ; neither does the 
cocoa-making cocoa-nut grow on a palm. The date, again, is the 
produce of a palm-tree ; and whilst on this topic, the reader's attention 
may be drawn to a somewhat curious fact. The hard stone which lies 
in the centre of a date, and which can scarcely be cut by hammer and 
chisel— so tough and hard is it — this date-stone is the part which corre- 
sponds with the edible portion of a cocoa-nut ; and, conversely, the 
shell of a cocoa-nut is the corresponding part to the edible and fleshy 
portion of the date. Cocoa-nuts and dates having suggested their 
respective trees, the sight of a composite candle reminds us of the oil 
palm, that valuable tree which supplies the negroes with a substitute 



252 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



for butter, and helps to form our soap, candles, and lubricating fat for 
railway axles. Sago, again, is the produce of a palm, as is also the 
valuable astringent catechu, so useful in mediciae and the manufacture 
of leather. Various in their properties as are the bodies already men- 
tioned, as being the produce of the palm tribe, they are only a few 
instances chosen almost at random, and give but a faint notion of the 
rich treasures derived from the tribe of palms. 

We have hitherto considered each species as affording us only one 
single product, but this is hardly doing justice to our friends the palms. 
For instance, take the cocoa-nut palm. In the first place it yields us 
its fruit — the nuts — but these are not a tenth of its products. Those 
graceful leaves, which wave like an enormous plume of ostrich-feathers 




in the breeze, were once enveloped in a sheath, forming a sort of 
gigantic unexpanded bud. In this state it resembles a cabbage in 
appearance, and if cut just at this period, it is delicious to eat after boil- 
ing, forming a very good substitute for the cabbage, to which, indeed, it 
is preferred by many. Then, again, the juice of the cocoa-nut palm — 
and, indeed, of many others — is valuable. If collected and allowed to 
ferment, it yields a very agreeable wine ; but if evaporated whilst fresh, 
it yields sugar precisely similar to that of the cane. Although the juice 
of the cocoa-nut is saccharine; yet that of the date-palm is more 
saccharine still. A great many specimens of those finely- crystallised 
sugars now brought from the East Indies were never extracted from 
the cane, but were obtained from the juice of various species of palm- 
trees, more especially the date-palm. Returning to the cocoa-palm 
{Cocos nucifera), and scrutinising its productions more narrowly, we 
shall find that others yet remain to be adverted to. Who does not 
know that the external husk of the cocoa-nut yields, when properlyi 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 253 

manipulated, a valuable textile fabric ? In regions where the cocoa- 
palm grows this property of the fibre of its husk has been known to the 
natives from time immemorial, but amongst ourselves the discovery of 
this property is altogether modern, and resulted, like many other good 
things, in accident, as follows : — 

The oil which cocoa-nuts yield when expressed was found, about the 
year 1840, to be a valuable material. At least, the oil was in that year 
applied to the manufacture of candles, being mixed with palm-oil, and 
treated by a chemical process, concerning which we shall have a little 
to say hereafter. Well, the process of subjecting ground cocoa-nuts 
to pressure, in order to extract their oil, requires the use of bags of 
some coarse fabric. When first the manufactory was established in 
Ceylon these fabrics were conveyed there from England, until at last 
Mr. W. Wilson discovered that the best fabric for the construction of 
pressure-bags was that obtained from the husk of the cocoa-nut itseK. 
Then arose the introduction of cocoa-nut fibre to commerce for many 
other purposes. Beds are now stuffed with it, mats formed of it, ropes, 
cordage, hearthrugs, brushes, and, in short, to so great a variety of 
different purposes is it applied, that we relinquish in despair the task 
of enumerating them. 

Palms belong to that great division of the vegetable kingdom which 
botanists term endogenous, inasmuch as their stems grow by the central 
deposition of woody fibre, the word endogenous signifying growing 
internally, or within. It is in tropical lands that the endogenous form 
of vegetable structure assumes its greatest development — not only 
constituting certain gigantic trees, of which palms are one species, but 
presenting itself in the shape of bamboos, canes, and grasses, with 
which we inhabitants of a temperate zone, can only become acquainted 
by description, or by the stunted pigmy-like offshoots which sometimes 
ve"^etate — flourish one cannot say — in our palmariums and hothouses. 

All the large trees of temperate climes are of exogenous growth — 
that is to say, their stem increases in size by annual depositions of 
woody fibre externally, or next to the bark, whence arises the denomi- 
nation exogenous, which signifies growing without, or externally, just as 
endogenous signifies growing internally, or within. The largest endo- 
genous plants which temperate climes produce are the tall grasses, such 
as wheat, barley, oats, &c. 

The determination whether a vegetable belongs to the endogenous 
or exogenous class is easily arrived at by several modes of investigation. 



254. THE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 

the simplest of which, in cases where it can be applied, consists in . the 
examination of a section of the vegetable trunk. If any of our native 
trees be cut across, and the plane of section polished, a prime indication 
of exogenous development will be seen. The trunk will be observed to 
consist of numerous concentric rings, each corresponding to the growth 
of one season, and therefore from an examination of them the age of 
the tree may be predicted. Moreover, the distinction between pith, 
wood, and bark will be complete, each of these several portions of the 
vegetable trunk being well marked. 

On cutting across an endogenous trunk — the larger the better, 
hence the trunk of a palm-tree is best, although the section of a rattan 
cane affords satisfactory indications — a great difference of structure 
between this and the structure of the exogenous vegetable will be 
manifest. In the first place, there is no longer recognisable any well- 
marked distinction between pith, wood, and bark ; all three of which 
are confused and in a manner blended together. Secondly, the con- 
centric rings, so evident in the other case and so distinctive, are here 
altogether wanting. ' The vegetable tissue appears thrown confusedly 
together, an appearance which results from the peculiar manner in 
which the trunk is formed — namely, by the internal deposition of woody 
fibre — heiice the term endogenous. 

Perhaps the section of the trunk cannot be obtained. In this case 
the determination may readily be made by an examination of a leaf.^ 
The leaf -veins of exogenous plants are reticulated, whereas those o: 
endogenous plants are j^arallel. A third method of distinguishin, 
endogenous from exogenous plants is afforded, at least in the majority 
of instances, by the seeds, which in endogenous plants only consist 
of one lobe, or cotyledon, whereas the seeds of exogenous plant 
consist of two— hence arises the botanical term monocotyledonous an 
dicotyledonous, which are respectively employed to indicate endogenoui 
and exogenous plants. This botanical digression (necessary, however, 
to the satisfactory comprehension of our subject) has led us away from 
the consideration of palms, but we will now resume their description. 

We have already stated that palm-trees may be regarded ag bota 
nically allied to the lilies and bulrushes of temperate regions. Let no 
the non-botanical reader think the comparison strange ; he wiU find, 
when he comes to be acquainted with the principles of botanical science, 
that the mere size of vegetables' has little or nothing to do with their 
alliances. The nature of the organs of fractification is a far surer sign ; 



se 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 255 

guided by these and some other appearances, the botanist refers the 
various members of the vegetable world to their proper natural families. 
In this way it is found that rose-bushes and apple-trees are very nearly 
allied, as in like manner are nettles, elm, and fig-trees. It is not our 
object to explain fully the nature of such botanical alliances, these 
forming the proper subjects of a treatise on botany. We will, however, 
direct the reader's attention to one little peculiarity of intlorescence — 
that is to say, the nature and arrangement of flowers — from a conside- 
ration of which he will at once recognise a similarity, or alliance, in 
this respect between bulrushes and palms. The flowers of both consist 
of what botanists term a spadix, enveloped by a spathe. 

A spadix consists of a long projection that imaginative botanists 
liken to a sword, which being denominated spada in Latin, this form 
of inflorescence is termed a spadix. Arranged upon this spadix, and 
growing out of it, are seen flowers and young fruit, and enveloping the 
spadix with its appendages is seen a leaf -like sheath; this latter is 
termed a spathe. A good example of a spadix inclosed in a spathe is 
furnished by the Arum macidainm of botanists, which is found in hedge- 
rows. The common bulrush, with which our country readers must be 
familiar, supplies an instance of the spadix without a spathe. 

Viewed with regard to their woody fibre, palm-trees exhibit great 
similarities to the stem of ferns. The likeness may be observed even 
on examining one of our own English ferns, but the resemblance is still 
greater when the section of one of the tropical tree-ferns is the subject 
of comparison. Like these tree-ferns, too, palm-trees must have been 
created very early in the history of the world ; evidence to this effect 
is furnished to us by the existing coal-fields of many regions. For the 
most part, these coal regions consist of fossilised ferns ; but the remains 
of palm-trees are also found : this is our proof. Palm-trees are now 
found growing native in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia ; 
but, with the exception of two dwarf species — the Chamserops humilis in 
Europe, and the Chamxrops pahnetta in jSTorth America — they are all 
denizens of tropical lands, and their region may be considered as 
bounded by the thirty-fifth degree of northern, and the fortieth of 
southern, latitude. Nevertheless, one species at least — the date-palm — 
has been so far naturalised in certain localities of Southern Europe, 
especially Andalusia and Valencia, that it grows to maturity and pro- 
duces fruit, though far inferior to the dates of Africa. The greatest 
authority on palm-trees is Herr von Martins, a German botanist, who, 



256 



THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 



with a view of studying their characteristics, devoted three years to a 
travelling excursion in Brazil, a region more rich in palms than any on 
the face of the globe. This botanist considers that there are existing 
at this time upwards of a thousand species of palms. If the opinion 
be correct, future botanical explorers have a rich field of investigation 




fl: 



AQUATIC BIKDS. 



yet untrodden, inasmuch as no more than 175 species have yet been 
individualised and described ; of these 119 belong to South America, 
42 to India, and 14 to Africa. Cosmopolitan denizens of the vegetable 
world, as we have seen that palm-trees are, different species affect diffe- 
rent localities. Some love to wave on mountain crests, others delight to 
fringe the sea-coast, and others will only arrive at perfection on the 
banks of rivers and streams ; moreover, with few exceptions, a few species 
refuse to flourish if taken from their own native land, and conveyed to 




mMMn:;mm 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 257 

anotlier of seemingly identical climate. Amongst the few exceptions 
to this rule, the cocoa-nut palm and the date-palm deserve especial 
mention ; provided the climate be hot enough, and that the sea be near 
enough, they flourish and bring forth fruit. It is a very curious fact, 
not satisfactorily accounted for, that the cocoa-nut palm will not 
flourish at any great distance from the sea ; hence islands are best 
adapted to their culture, and in Central Africa there are none. Botanists 
are inclined to refer this predilection for the sea-shore to the tendency 




FOEEST SCENE. 



' which these trees have to take up salt ; and the idea is partly confirmed 
by the known fact of their partiality, if the term may be allowed, for 
alkaline food. Ceylon may be regarded as the head-quarters of 
cocoa-nut palms, for in that country the trees thrive best. This fact 
is usually attributed, and it would seem justly, to the fact that the 
natives treat their conversation-loving friends to a frequent dressing 
of their own ashes. So great an amount of alkali do the ashes of these 
trees contain, that the Cingalese washerwomen rarely employ any soap, 
but, steeping the ashes in water to extract the alkali, they employ the 
resulting fluid. 

Among the vegetable productions of Brazil are sugar, coffee, cotton, 
cocoa, rice, tobacco, maize, wheat, mandioc, bananas, ipecacuanha, 



258 THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

ginger, jams, oranges, figs, sarsaparilla, and various others. Of these 
the most important, in a commercial point of view, are sugar and coffee, 
which are now, in fact, the staple products of the empire, and the 
culture of which has increased with almost unexampled rapidity. 
Sugar is principally raised in the province of Bahia, the soil of which is 
admirably suited to its growth ; but it is also extensively produced ia j 
some of the other provinces. The value of the sugar exported from the 
different ports of the empire is supposed to be little short of £1,600,000. 
The coffee of Brazil used not to be liked in Europe, owing to defects in 
its treatment. The merit of having introduced a better system is due 
to Dr. Lecesne, a planter from St. Domingo, who, having established 
himself in the vicinity of Rio, instructed the cultivators in the most 
approved methods of treating the plant. The effects of this liberal 
conduct have been most striking. Coffee is still principally produced 
in the vicinity of Bio, and so rapidly has its cultivation been extended, 
that, while its j^roduce in 1818 only amounted to 74,215 bags, it 
amounted in 1830 to 704,384 bags, and in 1843 to nearly 1,200,000 
bags ! Estimating the average crop at 1,100,000 bags, worth at the 
port of shipment three pounds a bag, the total value of the coffee 
exported would be £3,300,000 ! And notwithstanding its extraordi- 
nary extension, such are the boundless capacities of the country, that 
the culture of both sugar and coffee may be said still to be in its 
infancy, and to admit of an indefinite increase. 

Cotton ranks, next to coffee and sugar, as one of the principal 
products of Brazil. It is mostly grown in the provinces of Pernambuco 
and Maranham, and, in respect of quality, is inferior only to sea-island 
cotton. Its cultivation has not, however, been increasing for several 
years past. The exports may amount, at an average, to about 170,000 
bags of 160 lbs. each, worth about five pounds per bag, making in all 
the sum of eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Tobacco is prin- 
cipally grown in the islands in the bay of Rio Janeiro, in that of Angra 
dos Reys, and other islands on the lowest coast land ; it is, however, 
inferior in quahty to that of the United States, and the cultivation has 
rather decreased. Rice is largely cultivated in some places, and is 
exported ; but the principal dependence of the population is on the 
mandioc, manioc, or cassava (Jatroplia maniliot)^ regarded by the 
Indians as a bequest from their prophet Sune, and which, on that 
account, has sometimes been supposed not to be indigenous. But, if 
connected at all Vr^ith the plant, the function of the prophet was most 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 259 

probably confined to instructing the Indians in the mode of its use. 
And this, though a most essential service, was by no means an obvious 
one, for, in its natural state, the root of the j)lant, which is the only 
part that is made use of, is extremely dangerous, the juice being a 
deadly poison in which the Indians were accustomed to dip their 
arrows. When, however, the latter is expelled, the residuum or farina- 
ceous part is perfectly wholesome, and makes, indeed, a highly-nutri- 
tious and excellent food. And long before the discovery of America 
the Indians w^ere in the habit of expelling the juice by first peeling and 
then beating the roots into a coarse powder, and subjecting the latter 
to pressure and to the influence of heat in bags made of rushes. On 
the estates of the planters the roots are now ground in mills, pressed, 
and the perfect expulsion of the juice effected by heating the residuum 
in vessels placed over a brisk fire. Manioc is found on every table in 
Brazil, and supplies a great number of excellent dishes. Tapioca, so 
well known and extensively used in Europe, is a preparation of manioc, 
and is almost wholly brought from Brazil. The imports of this article 
into this country only have recently amounted, at an average, to about 
1,550 cwts. a year. The culture of the manioc is said to be most 
unfavourable to the soil, exhausting it in the course of a few years. 
This, however, is of comparatively little consequence in a country 
where waste land is so abundant as in Brazil. 

A species of sweet manioc (ManiJtot assim) is also found in Brazil. 
It is boiled and eaten in the same manner as the potato, but it is not 
ser^dceable in the manufacture of flour. 

Notwithstanding her fertility and extent, Brazil is indebted to 
foreign countries, and especially to the United States, for large supplies 
of wheat flour. This has been said to be a consequence of the un- 
suitableness of the soil for the culture of wheat ; but this does not 
really appear to be the case, that species of grain being found to 
succeed extremely well in the southern provinces, and on the table- 
lands of th interior. The importation of flour is rather, we incHne 
to think, a consequence of the indolence of the natives, and of the 
preference given to the culture of coffee. The province of Para is 
particularly fitted for the growth of rice, and might supply it in any 
quantity. 

The culture of the tea-plant has been tried in Brazil, and the soil 
and climate have been found suitable to its growth ; but its culture has 
not made, and conld not rationally bo expected to make. liiuch progress, 



260 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



inasmucli as it can only be successfully carried on where labour is 
abundant and cheap, whereas it is here both scarce and dear. 

The forests of Brazil, which are of vast extent and luxuriance, 
furnish almost every variety of useful and ornamental wood ; their 
products being adapted alike to shipbuilding, carpenter's work, cabinet 
work, and dyeing. The cocoa-tree is plentiful in the sandy soils along 
the coast. It is thicker and taller than in the East Indies : cocoa is ini 




SUaAR PLANTATION. 

general use among all ranks, and forms one of the chief articles of the 
internal trade, and also supplies considerable quantities for exporta- 
tion. The carasatto, or castor-tree, is an indigenous production, and is 
in general use for lamps and other purposes. The jacarandu, or rose- 
wood, is peculiarly valuable for cabinet work, and is extensively 
exported. One of the most valuable woods, the Cs^alpinia hraziletto, 
or Brazil wood (called ibiripitanga by the natives), producing a beautiful 
red dye, has been already referred to. It is found in the greatest 
abundance and of the best quality in the province of Pernambuco ; but, 
being a government monopoly, it has been cut down in so improvident 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 261 

^' a manner that it is now seldom seen within several leagues of the 
coast. There are also cedars, logwood, mahogany, and other kinds of 
! wood that are profitable to the country. The forests of Brazil, 
' particularly those in the province of Para, along the Amazon, yield 
; vast quantities of caoutchouc, or indiarubber, the uses of which have 
'= been so very greatly extended during the last dozen years. At an 
- average of the three years, the imports of this substance into this 



^P¥S^ 




COTTON PLANT. 



country from Pani amounted to 3,790 hundredweights a year, Nuts 
are also extensively exported.* 

But now we leave the forests for awhile, and sail on the black 
waters of the Rio Negro. 

Everything is very solitary. Not a single canoe do we meet during 
the whole of the day. At the little village of Tana Peassu we come 
to anchor and pass the night. Our next halting-place is Pedreira. It 
is a small village, consisting of about twenty houses, on the margin of 
the forest, where are situated several manioc plantations. The village 

* McCiilloch. 



262 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

is tolerably full, for it is Christmas time, and the feast is being kept j 
with all due solemnity. We make the acquaintance of the parish priest, 
who invites us to look over the church. We find the outside of the I 
building out of repair, but the interior in good condition, and the altar ; 
more richly decoi-ated than could well be expected in so poor a place as 
Pedreira. An image of the infant Saviour rests on a verdant couch ini 
a small cradle made of leaves and flowers. The priest is an Italian, 
who has passed many years of his life among the South American 
Indians, partly in Bolivia and partly in Brazil. He does not, like his 
confrere of Tana Peassu, pronounce a pompous eulogy on the salubrity 
of his parish. On the contrary, he says that the intermittent fever, 
from which he is himself a sufferer, prevails frequently, and that the 
jDCople are very poor, and sometimes quite destitute. The Indians 
endure all their privations very well, but the few whites who reside in 
the village suffer severely. It seems strange, passing strange, that in a 
country so fertile, famine should ever be known — it is traceable, no 
doubt, to the natural indolence of the people. 

Again on the Amazon, making our way back to Eio, we see, for 
the first time, that extraordinary plant, the Victoria Hegia. It 
opens upon the surface of the calm v/ater something like our water- 
lily, but in proportions of which v/e, accustomed to stunted vegetation, 
can scarcely form an idea. The flowers are not less than a foot in 
breadth, and the leaves float upon the surface of the water in the form 
of large discs, five or six feet in diameter. The structure of these 
leaves is very singular. Their shape is that which botanists call petio- 
late — that is to say, the petiole stalk is attached to the centre from 
beneath : they are smooth and green at the upper part, and have a 
raised border of two inches in breadth all around, like that of a sieve 
or large plate. Below they are of a reddish colour, and divided into a 
large number of compartments by very prominent veins, which leave 
between them triangular or quadrangular spaces, containing the air 
which helps to support the leaves upon the water, so that birds and 
other small animals have been often seen running about and pursuing 
their prey upon them, as if on solid planks. 

This marvellous flower, as Tennyson says, "anchored to the 
bottom," annually exhibits its wonders. In a way that would have 
charmed the Lady of Shalot, the charming spectator may see 

"The water-lily bloom." 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 



263 



Thanks to science and Sir W. Hooker, and those much-abused people, 
the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, the Victoria Regia has 
become one of us, and buds and flourishes here, in this land of fog, and 
cloud, and rain, as vigorously as it ever did in that warmer climate 
where first it sprang into beauty and life. 




THE WHITE WATSE-LIL'/. 



CHAPTER XI. 

A Land but Kttle knovm— The Desert of Atacama aad the lofty Cordillei'as — 
Chili — Pizarro persuades Diego de Almagro to undertake its Conquest — Its 
Conquest — The Conquerors much harassed by the People — Cupidity of the 
Soldiers — The Climate of Chili — Earthqiiakes — Yolcanoes — The Mines of 
Chih — Chilian Miners— More about the Climate — Ascent of the Cordilleras — • 
Hunting the Guanaco — The National Dance of Chili — Physical Geography of 
the Country — Modes of Communication — Rope Bridges — Riigged Roads — 
Sagacity of the Mules — Travelling on Man-hacli — Utility of the Banana — 
The Harbours of Yaldivia, Concepcion, and Valparaiso — City of Valparaiso — 
Mineral Wealth of the High Chain of the Andes— Pumas, Jaguars, &c. — 
Vegetable Productions — Oddities in Farming — Mining. 

nPHOUGrH much has been written at various times about the New 
-^ World, comparatively little is known of that portion of it extending 
from Peru to Patagonia, upon which Nature has so profusely lavished 
her bounties, that it has been called the garden of South America. The 
approach to this beautiful and fertile country is fraught with much 
difficulty and danger ; the wide desert of Atacama on the north, and 
the lofty Cordilleras on the east, presenting formidable natural barriers 
to travellers, who generally pursue the precipitous mountain route, 
rather than cross the sandy waste of the desert. 

Soon after the conquest of Peru, the fame of the mineral treasures 
of Chili having reached Pizarro, he persuaded his companion and rival, 
Diego de Almagro, to undertake the command of an expedition to 



264 THE GOLDEN AISIERICAS. 

attempt its conquest. In tlie year 1535, Almagro and his followers set 
forth, but in crossing the Andes, the fatigue and cold to which they 
were exposed proved fatal to a large portion of his army. They were 
at first well received by the natives, but having penetrated as far as 
Coquimbo, they met with much opposition, and a battle ensued, in 
which the Spaniards were victorious; but so dearly bought was the 
victory that Almagro had no wish, in the then weakened state of his 
forces, to hazard another engagement with these warhke tribes, and 
hearing of a disturbance in Peru, he decided on returning. 

In the year 1540, Pizarro resolved to renew the attempt to subjugate 
Chili, and appointed his quartermaster, Pedro de Valdivia, to the com- 
mand of this second expedition. He, profiting by the misfortunes of 
Almagro, reached Chili without experiencing any loss, but on his arrival 
was attacked on all sides. In spite of the valorous opposition of the 
Chilian tribes, the Spanish invaders succeeded in penetrating as far as 
the province of Mapocho, now called Santiago, where Valdivia laid the 
foundations of the capital of Chili. 

The conquerors were much harassed on all sides by the neighbouring- 
tribes, and several battles were fought, in which the slaughter on both 
sides was very great. The wearied and discouraged soldiers formed a 
conspiracy to murder their general, that they might be enabled to 
return to Peru ; but Valdivia having discovered this base design, caused 
the leaders of the plot to be put to death, and, to divert the thoughts 
and satisfy the cupidity of his soldiers, sent a detachment of them to 
the gold mines of Quillota. The plan fully succeeded, for when they 
beheld the vast riches of this region, aU desire to return was gone. 

From this time the Spaniards gradually extended their conquests 
until their territory had reached its present limits. Besides the narrow 
strip of land between the desert of Atacama and the river Biobio, they 
gained possession of the port of Valdivia, the Archipelago of Chiloe, 
and the island of Juan Fernandez. 

Perhaps the most formidable enemies of the Spaniards were the 
Araucanians, a fine warlike race of people, inhabiting the beautiful 
tract of land lying between the rivers Biobio and Valdivia. They 
entertained an ardent love for their country and for freedom, and 
boldly resisted the hostile attacks of the Spanish invaders, who founded 
several towns in Araucania, which were repeatedly taken and destroyed 
by this brave people, who still retain their territory. Since the libe- 
ration of Chili, which took place in the year 1817, an independent 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



265 




WATER-COURSE IN THE FOREST. 



2Q6 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

republican government has been maintained, with little interrup- 
tion, under a chief magistrate, called a supreme director. During the 
year 1825 a congress was convened, which framed a constitution for 
the republic, and now forms the basis of the government. The inde- 
pendence of this country has been acknowledged by the United States 
and Great Britain. The republic of Chili is divided into nineteen 
provinces. The princi]3al towns are Santiago, founded in 1541 by Don 
Pedro de Valdivia, and situated upon a plain extending the whole 
lengtli of Chili ; Valparaiso, the most important seaport of the republic, 
stretching nearly a mile along the shore, some of the houses being 
irregularly scattered over the hills, which rise abruptly behind the 
town ; and. Concepcion, on the river Biobio, possessing one of the most 
commodious harbours in the world. Coquimbo and Copiapo- have also 
good harbours ; and Yaldivia, which is situated on a river of the saane 
name, can boast one of the finest on the coast, but has no cultivated 
country round to give it importance. 

" The climate of Spanish ChiK," says Robertson, in his History of 
America, " is the most delicious of the New World, and is hardly 
equalled by that of any region on the face of the earth. Though 
bordering on the torrid zone, it never feels the extremity of heat, being 
screened on the east by the Andes, and refreshed from the west by 
cooling sea-breezes. The temperature of the air is so mild and equabfe, 
that the Spaniards give it the preference to that of the southern pro- 
vinces in their native country. The fertility of the soil corresponds 
with the benignity of the climate, and is wonderfully accommodated to 
European productions. The most valuable of these — corn, wine, and 
oil — abound in Chili, as if they had been native to the country." The 
wheat is remarkably fine, and is said sometimes to yield a hundredfold. 
The potato is indigenous to the soil ; it grows wild in the fields, but 
only produces a small root of a bitterish taste. 

The numerous rivers of Chili, fed by the melting snow from the 
mountains, flow with the rapidity of torrents, and are therefore seldom 
navigable, but irrigate the valleys, rendering them the most fertile in 
the world. 

This beautiful country has been much convulsed by earthquakes at 
various times. Great convulsions are rare, but a year seldom passes 
without some slight shocks being felt, which, on account of their fre- 
quent occurrence, excite little attention. There are fourteen volcanic 
mountains in a constant state of eruption, situated in that part of the 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 267 

Andes belonging to Chili, and many others discharge smoke at intervals. 
On account of their position in the centre of the range of mountains, 
the laya and ashes which are ejected do not reach bevond their limits. 
The wealth of this productive country is not confined to the surface ; 
the bowels of the earth yield unbounded treasures. Valuable mines of 
gold, silver, copper, and lead have been discovered in various parts, as 
well as those containing tin and quicksilver. Much attention is paid 
to the gold mines, which are very numerous and rich ; the sands of 
almost every stream contain some portion of this precious metal. 
"Almost all the precipitous and broken ground," says Eraser, "con- 
tains gold in greater or less quantities ; the surface of the earth in 
which it is found is generally of a reddish colour, and soft to the touch." 
The silver mines are found in the highest and coldest parts of the 
Andes. Many of them, though rich in ore, have been abandoned on 
account of the difficulty and expense in working them in this unfavour- 
able situation. The copper mines, which are generally situated near 
the coast, are very productive. Antimony and fossil-salt, as well as 
sal-ammonia and saltpetre, are found in great abundance in Chili. 
Pit-coal is also very plentiful. 

The miner of Chili is bold, enterprising, and prodigal — so accus- 
tomed to the sight of the precious metals, that he learns to disregard 
them, and attaches but little value to money. As a class, the miners 
are extravagant in their habits, passionately addicted to gaming — in 
which pursuit they pass most of their leisure hours — and shockingly 
intemperate. They generally die in tlie greatest distress — cut off in 
their prime by the effects of their unhealthy mode of life, and the dele- 
terious gases which they inhale in the mines. 

The climate of Chih, as we have already noticed, is justly celebrated 
throughout the world, and that of Santiago is deemed delightful, even 
in Chili; the temperature is usually between 60 deg. and 75 deg. The 
country roimd is extremely arid, and were it not for its mountain 
streams, which a.fford the means of irrigation. Chili would be a barren 
waste for two-thirds of the year. Rains fall only during the winter 
months (June to September), and after they have occurred the whole 
country is decked with flowers. The rains often last several days, are 
excessively heavy, and during their continuance the rivers become 
impassable torrents. At Santiago the climate is drier and colder, but 
snow rarely falls. On the ascent of the Cordilleras the aridity increases 
with the cold. The snow was found much in the same state as at Terra 



268 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

del Fuego, lying in patches about tlie summits. Even the high peak of 
Tupongati was bare in places, and, to judge from appearances, it seldom 
rains in the highest regions of the Cordilleras, to which cause may be 
imputed the absence of glaciers. 

"Several of our gentlemen," eays Captain Wilkes, "made an 
excursion to the Cordilleras, in order to get information in their 
various departments. 1 regretted they were not provided with the 
necessary instruments for ascertaining heights. The party left Santiago 
in biloches, and travelled to the eastward live leagues, to the ' Snow 
Bank,' from which the city is supplied. The ascent was gradual, but 
quite constant, as no intervening ravines occurred. They then took 
horses, leaving their biloches to return. Their route after this lay up a 
valley. On the surrounding heights the guanacoes were seen in great 
numbers." 

As they proceeded they found the middle region was marked by 
spiny plants, principally Burnadesia. The soil Avas found to be a 
mixture of loose earth and pieces of rock. On rising higher the 
vegetation became almost wholly extinct. Places occurred of an eighth 
of a mile in breadth destitute of verdure of any kind. The party then 
ascended a ridge belonging to the main body of the Cordilleras, and at 
an elevation of about ten thousand feet they reached its summit. Here 
they had an extensive view of all the line of the snow peaks. That of 
Tupongati appeared the most conspicuous, although at a distance of 
eighty miles. The guide asserted that he could see smoke issuing 
from its volcano in a faint streak, but it was beyond the vision of our 
gentlemen. The peak itself from this view of it was quite sharp- 
pointed. The scene immediately around them av.^s one of grandeur 
and desolation ; mountain after mountain, separated by immense 
chasms to the depth of thousands of feet, and the sides broken in the 
most fcintastic forms imaginable. In these higher parts of the 
Cordilleras they found a large admixture of the jaspery aluminous 
rock v/hich forms the base of the finest porphyries, also chlorite in 
abundance. The rock likewise contains fine white chalcedony, in 
irregular straggling masses, Trachytic breccia was observed in various 
places. The porphyry is of a dull purple colour, rather lighter than 
the red sandstone of the United States. ]S^o traces of cellular lava were 
observed, nor of other more recent volcanic productions. No limestone 
was seen in the regions traversed by them ; all the lime used at 
Santiago is obtained from sea-shells, nor were any proper sedimentary 
recks seen. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



269 



Nothing could be more striking than the complete silence that 
reigned everywhere. Not a living thing appeared to their view. 
After spending some time on the top they began their descent, and 




A LAKE ]N THE FOREST. 



after two hours' hard travelling they reached the snow line, and passed 
the night very comfortably in the open air, with their blankets and 
pillows or saddle-cloths. Fuel for a fire they unexpectedly found in 
abundance, the Alpinia umheUifera answering admirably for that 



270 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

purpose, from tlie quantity of resinous matter it contains. Near tlieir 
camp was tlie bank of snow before spoken of, from which the city has 
been supplied for many years. It covers several acres* The height they 
had ascended was about eleven thousand feet, and the Cordilleras 
opposite them about four thousand feet higher. The view of the mass 
of the Cordilleras in its general outline was not unlike those of ]\Iont 
Blanc and other mountains in Switzerland. 

Mr. Peale went in search of the guanacoes, and succeeded in killing 
one nine feet in length and four feet in height. They were found to 
frequent only the most inaccessible summits, and are said never to leave 
the vicinity of the snow. They feed upon several small thorny bushes, 
which impart a flavour to their flesh and a smell to their excrement that 
may be distinguished at some distance from their places of resort. 
They make a peculiar sound when alarmed like that of the katydid 
(gryllus). This animal is never hunted for the market, though its flesh 
is good. The benzoar is often found in its stomach, and is highly 
prized among the natives and Spaniards as a remedy for various 
complaints. It is also used as a gum. 

AH the party suffered greatly from the heat of the sun's rays and 
the dryness of the atmosphere. Their faces and hands were blistered, 
and the nose and lips made exceedingly sore, while the reflection of the 
light from the snow caused a painful sensation to the eyes. 

The Chilians are extremely fond of the dance called the samacueca. 
This may be called the national dance, and is in vogue among the 
common people. It is usually performed at the clehrgano^ which is a 
kind of amphitheatre, surrounded by apartments, where refreshments, 
including strong drinks, are sold, and is generally vrell filled by both 
sexes. The dance is performed on a kind of st^ge, under an open shed. 
The music is a mixture of Spanish and Indian, and is performed 
altogether by females, on an old-fashioned long and narrow harp, one 
end of which rests on the lap of the performer, and the other on the 
stage, ten feet o&. A second girl is seen merrily beating time on the 
sounding-board of the instrument. On the right is another, strumming 
the common chords on a wire -string guitar or gittern, making at every 
vibration of the right hand a full sweep across all the strings, and 
varying the chords. In addition to this, they sang a national love- 
song, in Spanish, at the top of their voices, one singing a kind of alto, 
the whole producing a very strange combination of sounds. 

The dance is performed by a young man and woman. The former 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 271 

is gaudily decked in a light scarlet jacket embroidered with gold lace, 
white pantaloons, red sash, and pumps,- with a tiny red cap, whilst that 
of his partner consists of a gaiidy painted muslin dress, quite short and 
stiffly starched, not a little aided by an ample pair of hips. Thrown 
over all is a rich-coloured French- shawl : these, with well-fitted silk 
stockings, complete her attire. These last are in truth characteristic of 
the Chilian women of all classes, and they take no pains to conceal 
them. One not unfrequently sees the extravagance of silk stockings in 
the washerwomen at their tubs, and even with their hands in the suds. 
The dress in general fits neatly, and nature is not distorted by tight- 
lacing or the wearing of corsets. K"othing is worn on the head, and the 
hair, parted and equally divided from the forehead back to the neck, 
hangs down in two long plaits on each shoulder to the waist. 

The style of dancing is somewhat like a fandango. The couple 
begin by facing each other and flirting handkerchiefs over each other's 
heads, then approaching, slowly retreating again, then quickly shooting 
off to one side, passing under arms without touching with great agility, 
rattling and beating time with castanets. Their movements are quite 
graceful, those of their feet pretty, and withal quite amorous. The 
gestures may be readily understood not only by the native audience, 
but by foreigners, I cannot say much for its moral tendency. 

The higher classes of females have the name of being virtuous and 
estimable in their domestic circle, but we cannot say that they are 
beautiful. They dress their hair with great care and taste. Their feet 
are small, and they have a graceful carriage. 

The French fashion of dress prevails, and they are just beginning 
to wear bonnets. The advancement of civilisation is rapid ; the imita- 
tion of foreign habits and customs will soon predominate over those of 
Chili ; and, what is of more consequence, some attention is being paid 
to their education. 

The country rises successively from the coast to the Great 
Cordillera of the Andes ; but not by a number of successive terraces 
running parallel to each other and to the sea, except in the north. 
" Elsewhere the surface," as Mr. Miers says, " is not formed by a series 
of table heights, reaching from the sea to tlie foot of the Cordillera; 
but it is a broad expansion of the moif^tainous Andes, which spreads 
forth its ramifications from the central to tlie longitudinal ridge 
towards the sea, diminishing continually, but irregularly, till they 
reach the ocean, . . . These mountainous branches are of considerable 



272 



THE GOLDEN AlVIERICAS. 



height, being seldom less than one thousand feet, and more generally 
two thousand feet, above the bottom of the valleys which intersect 
them ; it may, therefore, be readily conceived that there is but little 
level country between the smaller branches of these chains ; the more 




A CHILIAN MINER, 



valuable portions were formed^y the beds of the rivers, now compara- 
tively small, although there is evidence of their having been once the 
courses of greater streams. Some of those valleys present broad 
expansions of surface, such, by way of illustration, as that portion of 



THE G0L1)E:N AJklERICAS. 



273 




■■T" 



274 THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

the country called the Valley of Aconcagua. These aie the patches 
which constitute the finest and boasted portions of the middle of 
Chili."' 

The great Cordillera of the Andes has, in South Chili, a mean 
elevation of thirteen or fourteen thousand feet above the level of the 
ocean ; but it presents many peaks which rise to a considerably greater 
height. These peaks, most of which are volcanic, begin to be numerous 
beyond latitude 30 deg., and increase in number as we proceed further 
south. The principal one is that of Aconcagua, about latitude 32 deg. 
10 min., which has been proved to be at least twenty-three thousand 
feet in height, and therefore ranges fii'st among the mountains of South 
America. At intervals it is an active volcano. North of 83 deg. 
30 min. the Cordillera is divided into two separate ranges, inclosing 
the immense valley of Uspallata, so celebrated for its mineral riches, 
and other valleys. The principal road across the Andes, from Santiago 
and the Yale of Aconcagua to Mendoza, crosses Uspallata ; several 
other passes from Chili, in the La Plata territories, exist further south. 
The improvement of the countries embosomed within the Andes is 
much retarded by the want of easy communication. Sometimes the 
intercourse between places in the immediate vicinity of each other is 
interrupted by qucuradas, or rents, generally narrow, sometimes' of a 
vast depth, and with nearly perpendicular sides.* The famous natural 
bridge of Icononza, in Columbia, leads over a small quebrada ; it is I 
elevated about three hundred and twelve feet above the torrent that ! 
flows in the bottom of the chasm. Most of the torrents that are passed 
in travelling over the Cordilleras are fordable, though their impetuosity 
is such when swollen by the rains as to detain travellers for several 
days. But when they are too deep to be forded, or the banks too ■ 
inaccessible, suspension bridges are thrown over them, of a singular | 
make, but which, notwithstanding their apparently dangerous and i 
fra,gile construction, are found to answer the purposes required. Where 
the river is narrow, with high banks, they are constructed of wood, 
and consist of four long beams laid close together over the precipice, 
and forming a path of about a yard and a half in breadth, being just 
sufficient for a man to pass over on horseback. These bridges have 
become so familiar to the natives that they pass them without appre- 
hension. Where the breadth of the river will not admit of a beam 



* M'CiiUocli. 



■fcpe 



m 



THE GOLDEX A^IERICAS. " 275 

being laid across, ropes constnicted of hejucos, a species of thin elastic 

cane, of the length required, are thrown oyer. Six of these ropes 

are stretched from one side of the river to the other ; two, intended to 

serve as parapets, being considerably higher than the other four ; and 

the latter being covered with sticks laid in a transverse direction, the 

bridge is passed bj men, while the mules, being divested of their 

burdens, are made to swim across. All travellers have spoken of the 

extreme danger of passing these rope bridges, which look like ribbons 

suspended above a crevice or impetuous torrent. But this danger, 

according to Humboldt, is not very great when a single person passes 

over the bridge as quickly as possible, with his body leaning forward. 

But the oscillations of the ropes become very great when the traveller 

is conducted by an Indian who walks quicker than himself ; or when 

— frightened by the view of the water seen through the interstices of 

the bamboos — he has the imprudence to stop in the middle of the 

bridge and lay hold of the ropes that serve as a rail. Some of the 

rivers of the Iiigher Andes are passed by means of an invention or 

, bridge denominated a tarahiia. It conveys not only the passengers, 

but also their cattle and burdens, and is used to pass those torrents 

, whose rapidity, and the large stones continually rolling dovrn, render it 

impossible for mules to swim across. It consists of a strong rope of 

] bejuco extended across the river, on each bank of which it is fastened 

, to stout posts. On one side is a kind of wheel or winch, to straighten 

, or slacken the rope to the degree required. From this rope hangs a 

[ kind of movable leathern hammock, capable of holding a man, to vrhich 

a rope is fastened for drawing it to the side intended. For carrying 

over mules two ropes arc necessary, and these much thicker and 

slacker. The creature being suspended from them, and secured by 

girths round the belly, neck, and legs, is shoved off and dragged to the 

1 opposite bank. Some of these bejuco bridges are of great length, and 

, elevated to a great height above the torrent. 

A bridge of this sort was constructed by the fifth Inca over the 
Desaquadero, or river that issues from Lake Titicaca, vrhere it is more 
; than two hundred feet in width ; and on account of its utility is still 
I kept up. Sometimes, instead of being made of bejucos or osiers, these 
suspension bridges are made up of twisted strands, or thongs of 
bullock's hide. Mr. Miers passed along one of this sort, in Chili, 
two hundred and twenty-five feet in length by six feet wide ! It con- 
veyed over loaded mules, and was perfectly secure. 



276 



THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 



The ruggedness of the roads in the less frequented parts of the 
Andes can hardly be described. In many places the ground is so narrow 
that the mules employed in travelling have scarcely room to set their 
feet, and in others it is a continued series of precipices. These paths, 
are full of holes, from two to three feet deep, in which the mules set 
their feet, and di^aw their bellies and their riders' legs along the ground. 
The holes serve as steps, without which the precipices would be in 
a great measure impracticable ; but should the creature happen to set 




CHILIAN SAVAGES. 

its foot between two of these holes or not place it right, the rider falls, 
and if on the side of the precipice, inevitably perishes. This danger is 
even greater Avhere the holes are wanting. The tracks are extremely 
steep and slippeiy, and in general chalky and wet ; and where there 
are no holes to serve as steps, Indians are obliged to go before with 
small spades to dig little trenches across the pa,th. In descending those 
places where there are no holes or trenches, and which are sometimes 
many hundred yards deep, the instinct of the mules accustomed to pass 
them is admirable. They are sensible of tlie caution requisite in the 
descent. On coming to the top of an eminence they stop, and havirjg 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



277 



placed their fore-feet close together, as if in a posture of stopping them- 
selves, they also put their hind-feet together, but a little forwards, as if 
going to lie down. In this attitude, having, as it were, taken a survey 
of the road, they slide down with the swiftness of a meteor. The rider 
has only to keep himself fast in the saddle, without checking his beast, 
for the least motion is sufficient to disorder the equilibrium of the mule, 
in which case they must both unavoidably perish. The address of these 
creatures is here truly wonderful, for in this so rapid motion, when they 




STKEET SCENE IN VALPARAISO. 



seem to have lost all command of themselves, they follow exactly the 
different windings of the path, as if they had previously reconnoitred 
and settled in their minds the route to follow, and taken every 
precaution for their safety. There would otherwise, indeed, be no 
possibility of travelling over places where the safety of the rider depends 
on the experience and address of his beast. 

The valleys of the Cordilleras, which are deeper and narrower than 
those of the Alps and Pyrenees, and present scenes of the wildest aspect, 
give rise also to several other peculiarities in the mode of travelling. 
In many parts, owing to the humidity of the climate and the declivity 
of the ground, the streamlets which flow down the mountains have 



278 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

hollowed out gullies from about twenty to twenty-five feet in depth. 
The pathway which runs along those crevices is frequently not above a 
foot or a foot and a half in breadth, and has the appearance of a gallery 
dug and left open to the sky. In some places the opening above is 
covered by the thick vegetation which grows out from both sides of the 
crevices, so that the traveller is forced to grope his way in darkness. 
The oxen, which are the beasts of burden commonly made use of in 
this country, can scarcely force their way through these galleries, some ' 
of v<^liich are more than a mile in length ; and if the traveller should 
happen to meet them in one of the passages, he has no means of 
avoiding them but by climbing the earthen wall which borders the 
crevice, and keeping himself suspended by laying hold of the roots 
which penetrate to this depth from the surface of the ground, 

" In many of the passes of the Andes," says Humboldt, " such is the 
state of the roads that the usual mode of travelling for persons in easy 
circumstances is in a chair strapped to the back of one of the native 
porters (carqueros), or men of burden, who live by letting out their 
backs and loins to travellers. They talk in this country of going on a 
man's back (andar en carqueros) as we mention going on horseback. No 
humiliating idea is annexed to the trade of carquero ; and the men who 
follow this occupation are not Indians, but mulattoes, and sometimes 
even whites. It is often curious to hear these men, with scarcely any 
covering and following an employment which we should think so 
disgraceful, quarrelling in the midst of a forest because one has refused 
the other, who pretends to have a whiter skin, the pompous title of 
Don or Su Merced. 

" The usual load of a carquero is six or seven arrobas ; those who are 
very strong carry as much as nine arrobas. When we reflect on the 
enormous fatigue to which these miserable men are exposed, journeying^ 
eight or nine hours a day over a mountainous country ; when we know 
that their backs are sometimes as raw as those of beasts of burden j 
that travellers have often the cruelty to leave them in a forest when 
they fall sick ; that they earn by a journey from Ibaque to Cartago only 
twelve or fourteen piastres in from fifteen to twenty-five days — we are 
at a loss to conceive how this employment of carquero should be eagerly 
embraced by all the robust young men who live at the foot of the 
mountains. The taste for a wandering life, the idea of a certain inde- 
pendence amid forests, leads them to prefer it to the sedentary and 
monotonous labour of cities. The passage of the mountain of Quindin 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 279 

is not the only part of South America which is traversed on the backs 
oi men. The whole of the province of the Antioquia is surrounded by 
mountains so difficult to pass that they who dislike trusting themselves 
to the skill of a bearer, and are not strong enough to travel on foot 
from Santa Fe de Antioquia to Bocca de Nares or liio Samana, must 
relinquish all thoughts of leaving the country. The number of young 
men who undertake the employments of beasts of burden at Choco, 
Ibaque, and Medelhn is so considerable that we sometimes meet a file of 
fifty or sixty. A few years ago, when a project v/as formed to make 
the passage from Nares to Antioquia passable for mules, the carqueros 
presented formidable remonstrances against mending the road, and the 
government was weak enough to yield to their clamours. The person 
carried in a chair by a carquero must remain several hours motionless, 
and leaning backwards. The least motion is sufficient to throw down 
the carrier ; and his fall would be so much the more dangerous as the 
carquero, too confident in his own skill, chooses the most rapid 
declivities, or crosses a torrent on a narrow and slippery trunk of a 
tree. These accidents are, however, rare; and those which happen 
must be attributed to J[|^ imprudence of the travellers, who, frightened 
at a false step of the carquero, leap down from their chairs." 

In order to protect travellers, when they are sojourning in this 
desert country, from the inclemency of the weather, the carqueros 
provide themselves with several hundred leaves of a plant of the 
banana species, which they pluck in the mountains before they begin 
their journey. These leaves, v^hich are membranous and silky, are of 
an oval form, two feet long and sixteen inches in breadth. When the 
travellers reach a spot in the midst of the forests where the ground is 
dry, and where they propose to pass the night, the carqueros lop a few 
branches from the trees, with which they make a tent. In a few 
minutes this slight timber-work is divided into squares by the stalks of 
some climbing plant, or by the threads of the agave. The banana 
leaves having in the m.eantime been unrolled, are now spread over the 
above work, so as to cover it like the tiles of a house. These huts, 
thus hastily built, are cool and commodious, and Humboldt mentions 
that he passed several days in the valley of Boquia under one of these 
leafy tents, which was perfectly dry though exposed to incessant rains. 

Between the ramifications of the mountain chains and the sea some 
small plains line the coast. The shores are mostly high, steep, and 
rocky, as is general along the v/hole of the west coast of South America. 



280 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

They have almost everywhere, however, deep water near them, and 
there are many tolerable harbours, the best being those of Valdivia, 
Concepcion, Valparaiso, and Coquimbo, though some are safe only 
during certain seasons of the year. 

Valparaiso has greatly increased in size and consequence within the 
last few years, and has become the great seaport of Chili, and, indeed, 
of the whole coast. Although it labours under many disadvantages as 
respects its harbour, which is inferior to others on the coast, yet it is 
the nearest and most convenient port to Santiago, the capital. 

"I have had," says a well-known traveller, "some opportunity of 
knowing Valparaiso, and contrasting its present state with that of 
1821 and 1822. It was then a mere village, composed, with but few 
exceptions, of straggling ranchos. It has now the appearance of a 
thickly- settled town, with a population of thirty thousand, five times 
the number it had then. It is divided into two parts, one of which is 
known by the name of the Port, and is the old town ; the other by 
that of the Almendral, occupying a level plain to the east. Its location 
is by no means such as to show it to advantage. The principal 
buildings are the custom-house, two churches, (f^ the houses occupy- 
ing the main street. Most of the buildings are of one story, and are 
built of adobes or sun-dried bricks. The walls of the buildings are 
from four to six feet thick. The reason for this mode of building is 
the frequent occurrence of earthquakes. The streets are well paved. 
The plaza has not much to recommend it. The government-house is 
an inferior building. Great improvements are now making, and many 
buildings are on the eve of erection. 

"They are about bringing water from one of the neighbouring- 
springs on the hills, which, if the supply is sufficient, will give the 
town many comforts. On the hills are many neat and comfortable 
dwellings, surrounded by flower-gardens. These are chiefly occupied 
by the families of American and English merchants. This is the most 
pleasant part of the town, and enjoys a beautiful view of the harbour. 
The ascent to it is made quite easy by a well-constructed road through 
a ravine. The height is two hundred and ten feet above the sea. 

"The east end of the Almendral is also occupied by the wealthy 
citizens. The lower classes live in the ravines. Many of their habita- 
tions are scarcely sufficient to keep them dry during the rainy season. 
They are built of reeds, plastered with mud, and thatched with straw. 
They seldom contain more than one apartment. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



281 










282 THE GOLDEN .OiEEiCAS. 

" The well-known liills to tliG south of the port, called the 'Main 
and Fore Top,' are the principal localities of the grog-shops and their 
customers. These two hills, and the gorge {quehrada) between them, 
seem to contain a large proportion of the worthless population of both 
sexes. The females, remarkable for their black eyes and red ' bayettas,' 
are an annoyance to the authorities, the tr?.de, and commanders of 
vessels, and equally so to the poor sailors, who seldom leave this port 
without empty pockets and injured health, 

*' It was difficult to realise the improvem.ent and change that had 
taken place in the habits of the people, and the advancement in civil 
order and civihsation. On my former visit there was no sort of order, 
regidation, or good government. Robbery, murder, and vices of all 
kinds were openly committed. The exercise of arbitrary military 
power alone existed. l<ot only with the natives, but among foreigners, 
gambling and knavery of the lowest order, and all the demoralising 
effects that accompany them, prevailed. 

" I myself saw on my former visit several dead |bodies exposed in 
the public squares, victims of the cucliiUo. This was the result of a 
night's debauch, and the fracas attendant upon it. No other punish- 
ment awaited the culprits than the remorse of their own conscience. 

" Now Valparaiso, and, indeed, all Chili, shows a gTeat change for 
the better ; order reigns throughout ; crime is rarely heard of, and never 
goes unpunished ; good order and decorum prevail outwardly every- 
where ; that engine of good government, an active and efScient police, 
has been established. It is admirably regulated, and brought fully into 
action, not only for the protection of life and property, but in adding 
to the comforts of the inhabitants. 

" The predominant trait of the Chilians, when compared with other 
South Americans, is their love of country and attachment to their 
homes. This feeling is common to all classes. There is also a great 
feeling of independence and equality. Public opinion has weight in 
directing the affairs of state. The people are fond of agricultural 
jDursuits, and the lower orders much better disposed towards foreigners 
than in other parts. Schools and colleges have been established, and 
a desire to extend the benefits of education throughout the population 
is evinced." 

The rivers of the middle and south provinces are sufficiently 
numerous, but they are all small. The north part of the country 
is scarcely watered by any ; and from Maypo to ^Itacaraa, a dis- 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 283 

tance of one thousand geographical miles, all the rivers and streams 
together would not form so considerable a body of water as that 
with which the Rhone enters the Lake of Geneva, or as that of 
the Thames at Staines. The rivers retain pretty much the same 
quantity of water throughout the year ; they are not augmented much 
at any particular season by the melting of the snows, since, while in 
the summer the snow on the upper mountain ranges melts, that on the 
lower heights liquefies even in the winter. They are generally unfit 
for the purposes of trade. In the north there is no stream navigable 
for laden boats for more than six miles inland ; in the middle provinces 
the Maule is the only one which brigs of a hundred and fifty tons 
burden can enter at high tide, and these cannot ascend far ; and in the 
south, the Callacalla, or river of Yaldivia, is the only one capable of 
being entered with safety by ships carrying sixty guns. Some lakes, 
or rather lagunes, are scattered over the country ; they are most nume- 
rous in the south, and in the provinces of Valdivia, and in Araucania, 
are of some size. A few are sixty or seventy miles in circumference. 

According to Schmidtmeyer, the high chain of the Andes is chiefly 
composed of argillaceous schist, while the lovv^er chains and mountain 
groups are principally granite. Sienitic, basaltic, and felspar por- 
phyries, serpentines of various colours, quartz, hornblende and other 
slates, pudding-stone, and gypsum abound in the Cordilleras, and fine 
statuary marble is said to abound in the department of Copiapo. 
Chili is extremely rich in metals. Silver is found there at a greater 
elevation than any other metal ; it is also met with in the valleys or 
bowls in the lower ranges ; but, generally speaking, its quantity 
decreases in proportion to its distance from the Andes. Gold is most 
frequently situated at a much less elevation than silver ; it is found 
chiefly in the "bowls," and perhaps few of the lower mountain ranges 
throughout Chili are without it. Most, or perhaps all, rivers wash 
down gold. The copper mines are one of the chief sources of national 
wealth. Lead and iron are found in abundance, but neither is much 
sought after. Zinc, antimony, manganese, arsenic, tin, sulphur, so 
pure as not to require refining, alum, salt, and nitre are plentiful. Coal 
mines have been opened near Concepcion. The coal improves with the 
depth of the mine, and has already become a considerable article of 
trade and consumption at Valparaiso. The soil of the south provinces 
is sandy and saline, and in the opinion of some of our travellers not one- 
fiftieth part of the northern half of Chili can ever be cultivated. Some of 



284 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

the valleys in the central provinces, as that of Aconcagua, present 
broad and fertile expansions of surface, and others, being considerably- 
inclined, admit of irrigation wherever water can be procured ; but the 
hilly parts, being dried and parched during the greater part of the 
year, are incapable of culture. South of the River Maule, however, the 
proportion of cultivable land is larger, the soil becoming progressively 
more stiff and loamy,* 

Fertility increases in proportion as we proceed south. As one 
of our writers t observes, at Concepcion, in the south of Chili, tie 
eye is delighted with the richest and most luxuriant foliage. At 
Valparaiso, which lies between one hundred and two hundred mi]es 
farther north, the hills are poorly clad with a stunted brushwood, 
and a faint attempt at grass, the ground looking everywhere starved 
and naked. At Coquimbo even this brushwood is gone, and nothing is 
left to supply its place but a wretched sort of prickly pear-bush, and a 
scanty sprinkling of v,dry grasses. At Guasco there is not a trace of 
vegetation to be seen, all the hills and plains being covered with bare 
sand, excepting where the little solitary stream of AA'ater caused by the 
melting of the snow amongst the Andes gives animation to the channel 
which conducts it to the sea. The resx3ective latitudes of these places 
are 37 deg., 3o deg., 30 deg,, and 28|- deg. Extensive forests cover 
Araucania and the south provinces. The flanks of the Andes also 
exhibit profuse vegetation. The Mimosa farnesiana flourishes over 
most of the country, and the algaroJj is nearly as common. The gnUIai, 
the bark of which produces a natural soap, is brought to the town as 
an article of trade. Laurels, myrtles, cypresses, and other evergreens 
grow to such a size as to be highly useful for their timber. Most 
European fruits flourish, but tropical plants are few. The numerous 
groves of palm and cinnamon trees have all disappeared. Chili pro- 
duces many hard woods, which in a great measure supersede the use of 
iron in the country. The herbaceous plants and flowers are so rich, 
various, beautiful, and novel, that to a botanist, Mr. Miers says, no 
treat can be greater than a journey through the Cordillera.^ 

The coguar, or puma, the jaguar, llama, guanaco, numerous monkeys, 
and other v/ild animals common to this continent inhabit Cbili. A kind 
of beaver (^Castor hailibrius) frequents the rivers, and the chinchilla 
abounds in the desert country of the north. The great condor, several 

* Miers. t 'Captain Basil Fall. % Sclimidtmeyer. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



285 



vultures, pelicans, and other water fowl, flocks of parrots, paroquets, 
and many others are among the birds; whales, dolphins, cod, and 
pilchards are caught around the coasts. The skunk, which when 
pursued emits an intolerable odour, is a native of Chili ; but in other 
respects this country enjoys a singular freedom from annoying or 
venomous quadrupeds, noxious insects, and reptiles. 

The climate and soil of the south and central parts of Chili are 
highly suitable for the culture of European grains. South of latitude 




80 deg., the limit at which they cease to attain perfection varies from 
tliree thousand seven hundred to five thousand feet above the ocean, 
but at the height of three thousand feet the harvests are extremely 
good. Only the middle provinces, however, produce sufficient corn for 
exportation after supplying the wants of their inhabitants. Aconcagua 
is by far the best cultivated jDrovince, and that which exports most 
corn. Its produce goes chiefly to the market of Valparaiso. Wheat is 
the staple, and in the north almost the only grain cultivated. Barley is 
grown in the south ; maize, buckwheat, and oats are but little raised. 



286 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

and rye is unknown. Kidney beans are exported to Peru, and 
occasionally to Brazil, All kinds of pulse are common, and potatoes 
are extensively cultivated, though they fail in flavour. Culinary 
vegetables are raised, especially near the towns. Water melons are 
very fine, and gourds of a good flavour are produced in great abun- 
dance; the latter are appendages to every Chilian dish of boiled 
meat. Hemp of good quality is grown chiefly in Aconcagua. The 
sugar-cane has been tried, but does not succeed. Eice and cocoa are 
imported. At Quillota there are some good gardens ; in Aconcagua 
province the vineyards and olive gardens yield an abundance of good 
fruit ; and in that of Concepcion, which was once celebrated for its 
wine, the vineyards are still extensive, and the grapes fine-flavoured. 
Elsewhere, both orchard and garden cultivation is in the background. 
The olive crops are good, but the oil is ruined by a bad mode of treat- 
ment, and rendered unfit for European markets. Little care is taken 
in the culture of corn. The art of agriculture is sadly behind. The 
plough, which is everywhere alike throughout the country, consists of 
only a part of the trunk of a tree, with a crooked branch which serves 
as a handle, the forepart of the trunk being wedge-shaped, and having 
nailed to it a somewhat pointed flat piece of iron, which performs the 
necessary operation of coulter and share, neither of which was ever heard 
of by the natives. The yoke is fastened not to the shoulders but to the 
horns of the oxen, according to the approved ancient Spanish method. 
The substitute for a harrow is a heap of bushes weighed down v>'ith 
stones. The turning up of the soil by spade-digging and the use of the 
English hoe are unknown, and what little weeding is practised is per- 
formed by the hand or the hladehone of a sheep. And these miserable 
expedients are resorted to while iron exists in profusion in the country, 
and furnaces are constantly at work ! Lands are cultivated imtil worn 
out, with the interval of a fallow every four or five years : no manure 
is used. Reaping is performed by means of a rough sickle ; and the 
corn, in quantities of about one hundred or one hundred and fifty 
quarters at a time, thrashed out in a hard, dry spot of ground, by being 
galloped over by horses. It is then generally left in the open air for 
some months, not being housed till the rainy season begins. Few farms 
are wholly arable, and such as are so are small and situated in narrow 
valleys. 

Cattle-breeding is the most important branch of rural industry. 
In the middle provinces the haciendas, or farms, feed often from 



THE GOLDEN AJViEEICAS. 287 

ten to fifteen thousand head of cattle ; in some cases as many as 
twenty thousand, and on the smallest grazing farms from four to five 
thousand head are reared. The black cattle in some parts are strong 
and bony, but in the north small ; they are dull, and neither the beef 
nor milk they yield is very good. The horses of Santiago are said to 
be excellent, well broken, and more docile than those of Buenos Ayres. 
Those of the country generally are well made, and gallop though they 
do not trot well ; they are said to be so strong and hearty as to be able 
to carry their riders above eighty miles a day at a gallop, with very 
little rest, and no other food than lucerne grass ! The mules and asses 
are of a good size, hardy and strong ; the former are the general beasts 
of burden, and are especially used in travelling across the Cordillera. 
Goats are plentiful, being more fitted than sheep for the pastures of 
Chili. The sheep are said to be very inferior, and both the mutton and 
wool bad. Hogs are not very good, and very little of their flesh is 
consumed. In the dry season the cattle are often reduced to great 
straits for want of food. 

After its concpjest by the Spaniards, Chili was divided into three 
hmidred and sixty portions, which were given to as many individuals ; 
and though by the Spanish law of succession these portions have been, 
and continue to be, subdivided frequently, most estates still remain 
very large. The proprietors of these large grazing estates usually 
reside with their families in the towns, and keep on their farms a major- 
domo, or steward, under whom are a head and a few subordinate 
herdsmen, and these are assisted sometimes by a few tenants who hold 
their dwellings under the proprietor by a kind of feudal tenure, being 
obliged to give their services in any kind of labour that is required of 
them, V7ithout pay, or for a very small remuneration. . Land is never 
leased out to agricultural tenants but from year to year ; the latter 
have neither oxen for ploughing, mares for thrashing, nor capital to 
get in their crops ; and all these and all other kinds of assistance come 
from the proprietor, vrho is repaid out of the produce of the land, 
which he, besides, generally buys up at two-thirds or half what the 
farmer might sell it for, could he command the necessary funds to 
harvest it. The cultivator, in short, is rather Vv^orse off than the day 
labourer, and is even in the habit of hirhig himself out as such, at 
times, to recruit his means. He is destitute of most coinforts, can 
seldom read or vrrlce, nor has any means within his reach of educating 
J'is children. The moment his harvest or the produce of his garden is 



288 THE GOLDEN a:uERICAS. 

reaped, the landlord greedily enforces his rigtit to the stubble and 
pasture for the benefit of his cattle, and large droves are even fre- 
quently turned in before the produce is cut, either utterly destroying 
the crops, or obliging them to be gathered half ripe. The tenant is 
scarcely ever allowed to build his hut on cultivated grounds, to inclose 
his rented land with fences, or to possess any cattle ; and a multitude 
of other arbitrary practices tend to keep the peon in that state of 
servitude in which it is the object of the proprietor to retain him. 

It is a common saying in Chili, that •' a diligent man who works a 
copper mine is sure to gain ; but that if the mine be of gold he will 
certainly be ruined." This is probably owing in great part to the 
circumstance of many mines having been opened or wrought by 
persons without capital, who are very soon obliged to suspend their 
operations, land-carriage being difficult and laborious, and fuel, water, 
and fodder very scarce in those districts which are the richest in ore. 
The mines are mostly wrought by two parties, one the proprietor of 
the mine, who supplies the labour, the other the liahilitador, who ad- 
vances the capital. The proprietor, who usually resides on the spot 
and superintends the works, is seldom wealthy enough to conduct them 
on his own resources, and it is generally the liahilitador, or moneyed 
individual, who resides at the port where the metal is shipped, who 
alone derives any ultimate benefit from the mine. 

Some interesting particulars are given with respect to a native 
tribe by a reliable authority, who says — "Before our departure from 
the harbour a bark canoe came alongside with an Indiap, his squaw, 
and four children. The tribe to which they belonged is known by the 
name of the Petcherai Indians. They were entirely naked with the 
exception of a small piece of sealskin, only sufiicient to cover one 
shoulder, and which is generally worn on the side from which the wind 
blows, affording them some little shelter against its piercing influence. 

"They were not more than five feet high, of a light copper colour, 
which is much concealed by smut and dirt, particularly on their faces, 
which they mark vertically with charcoal. They have short faces, 
narrow foreheads, and high cheekbones. Their eyes are small and 
usually black, the upper eyelids in the inner corner overlapping the 
under one, and bear a strong resemblance to those of the Chinese. 
Their nose is broad and flat, with wide-spread nostrils, mouth large, 
teeth white, large, and regular. The hair is long, lank, and black, 
hanging over the face, and is covered with white ashes, which gives 




hiliiiii:iiii!:iiiiiiife^ 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



289 



them a hideous appearance. The whole face is compressed. Their 
bodies are remarkable from the great development of the chest, 
shoulders, and vertebral column ; their arms are long, and out of pro- 
portion; their legs are small and ill-made. There is, in fact, little 




-1. 



A CHILIAN MOTHER, 



difference between the size of the ankle and leg ; and when standing, 
the skin at the knee hangs in a large, loose fold. In some the muscles 
of the legs -appear almost wanting, and possess very little strength. 
This want of development in the muscles of the legs is owing to their 
constant sitting posture, both in their huts and their canoes. Their 

U 



290 THE GOLDEN AJMERTCAS. 

skin is sensibly colder than ours. It is impossible to fancy anything in 
human nature more filthy. They are an ill-shapen and ugly race. 
They have little or no idea of the relative value of articles, even of 
those that one would suppose were of the utmost use to them, such as 
iron and glass ware. A glass bottle broken into pieces is valued as 
much as a knife. Red flannel torn into strips pleases them more 
than in the piece ; they wound it around their heads as a kind of 
turban, and it was amusing to see their satisfaction at this small 
acquisition. 

" The children were quite small, and nestled in the bottom of the 
canoe on some dry grass. The woman and eldest boy paddled the 
canoe, the man being employed to bale out the water and attend to the 
fire, which is always carried in the bottom of the canoe, on a few 
stones and ashes which the water surrounds. 

" Their canoes are constructed of bark, are very frail, and sewed 
with shreds of whalebone, sealskin, and twigs. They are sharp at 
both ends, and are kept in shape, as well as strengthened, by a number 
of stretchers lashed to the gunwale. 

" These Indians seldom venture outside the kelp, by the aid of 
which they pull themselves along : and their paddles are so small as to 
be of little use in propelling their canoes unless it is calm. 

" Their huts are generally found built close to the shore, at the 
head of some small bay, in a secluded spot, and sheltered from the 
prevailing winds. They are built of boughs or small trees, stuck in 
the earth and brought together at the top, where they are firmly 
bound by bark, sedge, and twigs. Smaller branches are then inter- 
laced, forming a tolerably compact wickerwork, and on this grass, 
turf, and bark are laid, making the hut quite warm and impervious to 
the wdnd and snow, though not quite so to the rain. The usual 
dimensions of these huts are seven or eight feet in diameter, and about 
four or five feet in height. They have an oval hole to creep in at. 
The fire is built in a small excavation in the middle of the hut. The 
floor is of clay, which has the appearance of having been well kneaded. 
The usual accompaniment of a hut is a conical pile of mussel and 
limpet shells opposite the door, nearly as large as the hut itseK. 

"These natives are never seen but in their huts or canoes. The 
impediments to their communication by land are great, growing out of 
the mountainous and rocky character of the country, intersected with 
inlets, deep and impassable, and in most places bounded by abrupt 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 291 

precipices, together with a soil which may be termed a quagmire, on 
which it is difficult to walk. This prevails On the hills as well as in 
the plains and valleys. The impenetrable nature of the forest, v/ith 
the dense undergrowth of thorny bushes, renders it impossible for 
them to overcome or contend with these difficulties. They appear to 
live in f amihes, and not in tribes, and do not seem to acknowledge any 
chief. 

"They were found to be great mimics, both in gesture and sound, 
and would repeat any word of our language Avith great correctness of 
pronunciation. Their imitations of sounds were truly astonishing. 
One of them ascended and descended the octave perfectly, following 
the sounds of the violin correctly. It was then found he could sound 
the common chords, and follow through the semitone scale v/ith 
scarcely an error. They have all musical voices, speak in the note 
G sharp, ending with the semitone A, T>rhen asking for presents, and 
were continually singing. 

" Their mimicry became at length annoying, and precluded our 
gettiog at any of their v^ords or ideas. It not only extended to words 
or sounds, but actions also, and was at times truly ridiculous. The 
usual manner of interrogating for names was quite unsuccessful. On 
pointing to the nose, for instance, they did the same. Anything they 
saw done they would mimic, and with an extraordinary degree of 
accuracy. On these canoes approaching the ship, the principal one of 
the family, or chief, standing up in his canoe, made an haraiigue. 
Although they have been heard to shout cfaite loud, yet they .cannot 
I endure a noise ; and when the drum beat or a gun v/as fired, they 
invariably stopped their ears. They always speak to each other in a 
whisper. The men are exceedingly jealous of their v/omen, and will 
not allow any one, if they can help it, to enter their huts, particularly 
boys. 

" The women were never suffered to come on board. They appeared 
modest in the presence of strangers. They never move from a sitting 
posture, or rather a squat, with their knees close together, reaching 
to their chin, their feet in contact and touching the lower part of the 
body. They are extremely ugly. Their hands and feet were small and 
well-shaped, and from appearance they are not accustomed to do any 
hard work. They appear very fond, and seem careful of their young 
children, though on several occasions they offered them for sale for a 
trifle. They have their faces smutted all over, and it was thought, 



292 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

from the hideous appearance of the females, produced in part by their 
being painted and smutted, that they had been disfigured by the men 
previous to coming alongside. It was remarked that when one of them 
saw herself in a looking-glass she burst into tears, as Jack thought, 
from pure mortification. The men are employed in building the huts, 
obtaining food, and providing for their other wants. The women 
were generally seen paddling their canoes. 

" When this party of natives left the ship and reached the shore, the 
women remained in their canoes, and the men began building their 
temporary huts ; the little children were seen capering quite naked on I 
the beach, although the thermometer was at forty degrees. On the 
hut being finished, which occupied about an hour, the women went on 
shore to take possession of it. They all seemed quite happy and 
contented. 

" Before they left the ship the greater part of them were dressed 
in old clothes that had been given to them by the officers and men, 
who all showed themselves extremely anxious ' to make them comfort- 
able.' This gave rise to much merriment, as Jack allowed no difficulties 
to interfere in the fitting. If the jackets proved too tight across the 
shoulders, which they invariably were, a slit down the back effectually 
remedied the defect. If a pair of trousers was found too small round 
the waist, the knife was again resorted to, and in some cases a fit was 
made by severing the legs. The most difficult fit, and the one which 
produced the most merriment, was that of a woman, to whom an old 
coat was given. This she concluded belonged to her nether limbs, and 
no signs, hints, or shouts could correct her mistake. Her feet were 
thrust through the sleeves, and after hard squeezing she succeeded in 
drawing them on. With the skirts brought up in front she took her 
seat in the canoe with great satisfaction, amid a roar of laughter from 
all who saw her. 

" Their mode of expressing friendship is by jumping up and down. 

" Their food consists of limpets, mussels, and other shell-fisb. Quan- 
tities of fish and some seals are now and then taken among the kelp, 
and with berries of various kinds and wild celery they do not want. 
They seldom cook their food much. The shell-fish are detached from 
the shell by heat, and the fish are partly roasted in their skins without 
being cleaned. 

" When on board one of them was induced to sit at the dinner-table ; 
after a few lessons he handled his knife and fork with much dexterity. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



293 



He refused both spirits and wine, but was very fond of sweetened 
water. Salt provisions were not at all to his liking, but rice and plum- 
pudding were agreeable to his taste, and he literally crammed them into 




his mouth. After his appetite had been satisfied he was in great good- 
humour, singing his ' Hey meh leh,' dancing, and laughing. His 
mimicry prevented any satisfactory inquiries being made of him relative 



294 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

to a Yocabularv, Some of the officers painted the faces of these natives 
black, Avhite, and reel ; this delighted them very much, and it was quite 
amusing to see the grimaces made by them before a looking-glass. 

" One of these natives remained on board for upwards of a week, 
and being washed and combed he became two or three shades lighter 
in colour. Clothes were put on him. He was- afoouti twenty- three 
years of age. His astonishment was very great on, attending divine 
service. The moment the chaplain began to read from the book, his 
eyes ^^'e^e riveted upon him, where they remained as longras^he. oon- 
tinued to read. At the end of the week he became dissatisfledl,. and 
was set on shore, and soon appeared naked again. 

"They are much addicted to theft, if any opportunity offers. 
Although we had no absolute proof of it, we are incKned' to the belief 
that they bury their dead in caves." 

The riches of Chili, we are informed by an^ ol'dl authoriJjy, are of two 
sorts : first, those which Nature has bestowed: on. it, witiiout the helj^ of 
human industry ; and secondly, those which have been-, produced] and 
invented by the inhabitiints, to improve and enjoy its ffertiiity. To the 
first kind belong its mines of gold, silver, copper,, tin, qLuicltsilver,. and 
lead, with which Heaven hasi emuched it. Of the co^gei;' ofe Chili are 
made all the great guns :§bii Feru aaid' the neighbouring kingdemSj in 
the garrisons of which Mm& aa-e always stores-, particularly- on the 
coasts. All the bells of the churches, and utensils for families, aa?e of 
this metal, so that since the working of these mines, na copper lias come 
from Spain, for the Indies are sufficiently supplied^ b;^- them ■waldi all 
they can want. 

There is, he says, little lead worked, because there is. little use for it ; 
quicksilver less. Those of silver likewise lie un wrought, because the 
golden mines are of less charge, and; so everybody hm turned their 
industry towards them ; they are so many aaid' sot rich,, that from, the 
confines of Peru to the extremest parts of this kingdbmy as far as the 
Straits of Magellan, there is no part of the country but they discover 
them ; which made Father Gregory of Leon, in his map of Chili, say 
that this country ought rather to have been called a plate of gold than 
to go about to reckon up its golden mines, which are innumerable. 

All the authors who have written of this country, says our quaint 
authority, do mightily enlarge upon its riches, and the same is done by 
all those who have navigated the Straits of Magellan. Antonia de 
Herrera, in his general history of the Indies, says that in all the West 



THE GOLDEN AJMERICAS. 295 

Indies no gold is so fine as that of Yaldivia, in Chili, except the famous 
mine of Carabaya; and that when those mines were first worked (which 
was before those Indians who are now at peace with us were at war), 
an Indian among them did use to get from them every day twenty or 
thirty pesos of gold, which comes to near five hundred reals of plate,, 
and was a wonderful gain. 

And then we are told by John and Theodore de Bryce that when 
Xodales passed the Straits of St, Yincent, otherwise called Straits Le 
Maire, there came some Indians from the country called La Tierra del 
Fuego, who exchanged with the Spa-niards a piece of gold of a foot and 
a half long, and as broad, for scissors, knives, needles, and other things 
of little value, for they do not value gold as we do. Other authors say 
that most of the gold that was laid in the Inca's treasure was brought 
to him from Chili, though, having never subjected the Araucanos, he 
could not have that quantity Vv^hich this rich country would else have 
afforded. 

But what need I weary myself, says he, in citations of people abroad, 
when those who live in the country of Chili, and see it every day, are the 
best testimony of the great riches that the Spaniards have drawn from 
these mines, which were so great that I have heard the old men say, in 
their feasts and entertainments, they used to put gold-dust in their salt- 
cellars instead of salt ; and that when they swept the house, the servants 
would often find grains of gold in their sweepings, which they would 
wash out, for the Indians being the persons that brought it to their 
lords, they would often let some fall. 

As we have already stated, it is much more easy to get gold than 
silver out of the mines, because this last costs much pains ; first, to dig 
it from the hard rock, then to beat it in the mills to powder, which mills 
are chargeable, as also is the quicksilver necessary to be used to make 
the silver unite, and all the rest of the operations requisite to refine it ; 
but the advantage of getting gold has no other trouble in it than to 
carry the earth in which it is found to the water, and there wash it in 
mills on purpose, with a stream which carries off the earth, and the 
gold, as being heaviest, goes to the bottom. 

It is true sometimes they follow the gold vein through rocks and 
hard places, where it grows thinner and thinner, until at last the profit 
that arises is very small, yet they persist in following it, in hopes it will 
grow larger, and end at last in that which they call Bolsa, which is, when 
coming to a softer and easier part of the rock, the vein enlarges so that 



296 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

one of these hits is enough to enricli a family for all their Uves. There 
is now less gold found than formerly, by reason of the war the Spaniards 
have had with the nation of Araucanos ; but still some is found, par- 
ticularly in Coquimba, where, in the winter, when it rains much, is the 
great harvest of gold, for by the rain the mountains are washed away, 
and the gold is easier to come at. There is likewise some gold in the 
territories of the Conception, in which I was told by a captain who 
entered into our society, that there was, not above half a league from 
the town, a pond, or standing water, which is not deeper than half the 
height of a man, and that when the Indians have nothing to spend, 
they send their wives to this pond ; and they going in, feel out with 
their toes the grains of gold, and as soon as they have found them they 
stoop down and take them up. They do this until they have got to 
the value of two or three pesos of gold, and then they seek no longer, 
but go home, and do not return for any more as long as that lasts 5 for 
they are not covetous, but are content to enjoy without laying up. 

I brought with me to Italy one of these grains thus found, of a pretty 
reasonable bigness ; and sending it to Seville to be touched, without 
either putting it in the fire, or using other proofs, it was allowed to be 
of twenty-three carats, which is a very remarkable thing. Now the 
peace is made, and the warlike Indians quiet, the Spaniards may return 
to search for the gold of Valdivia, and other mines thereabouts, which 
will extremely increase the riches of the country. 

As for the product made by the industry of the inhabitants, it con- 
sists principally in the breed of their cattle of all kinds ; sending the 
tallow, hides, and dried flesh to Lima, where, having first retained the 
necessary proportions for themselves, which is about twenty thousand 
quintals of tallow every year for that city, and hides accordingly, they 
distribute the rest all over Peru ; the hides are often carried up to 
Potosi, and all the inland tract of mines ; they are also carried to 
Panama, Carthagena, and the rest of that continent ; some of this 
trade extends itself likewise to Tucuman and Buenos Ayres, and from 
thence to Brazil. 

The second is the cordage and tackling with which all the ships of 
the South Seas are furnished from Chili ; as also the match for firearms, 
with which all the king's garrisons along the coast are provided from 
those parts ; for the hemp, which makes the first material of aU these 
provisions, grows nowhere in the West Indies but in Chili ; there is 
also packthread exported, and other smaller cordage. 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



297 



The third product is mules, which are sent to Potosi, through the 
desert of Arcama. 

The fourth product is the cocoa-nuts, which are the fruit of the 




palm-trees, and do not, indeed, proceed from industry, but grow wild 
in the mountains without any cultivation, so thick that I have seen 
several leagues of this tree. Almonds likewise, and the product of 



298 THE GOLDEN AJNIERICAS. 

gardens \Yliicli do not grow in Peru, are carried thither with great 
profit. When I came to Lima (says our garrulous author), I 
observed that the aniseed, which had been bought at Chili for two 
pieces of eight, was sold there for twenty ; and the cinnamon seed 
bought at twenty was sold for fourscore ; which makes merchants very 
willing to trade to those parts, as hoping to grow rich in a small time ; 
and this increases the riches of Chili, by drawing every day thither 
men with good stocks. The gains made this way are so considerable 
that a man vf ho has a thousand crowns to employ in land-,, flocks, and 
slaves to take care of them, may every year have a revenue of ten or 
twelve thousand crowns, which is a gain of twenty-five pec cent., very 
lav,' f ul and without any trouble to one's conscience or sui)j^ctiion. to the 
dangers of the seas ; for those who will run the hazard oi^ that element 
gciin much more, for the merchants, by many commodities,. get a hundred, 
and two hundred — nay, three hundredj per cent.: — ini % navigation of 
about three weeks, which is the time usually em^to^edi fi!0ii^.. Chili to 
Lima, without any fear of pirates, all those seas belonging entirely to 
the King of Spain, and so free from those robbers. Besides, it is very 
seldom that any storms are felt in that voyage, or at least not any that 
endanger the loss of the ships. The greatest danger proceeds from the 
covetousness of the owners and merchants, who, trusting to, the peace- 
ableness of those seas, and that they sail all the way from Chili to Lima 
before the wind, they load up to the mid-mast.. M is no exaggeration, 
because I have seen them go out of the port with; provisions for the 
voyage ^id other necessaries as high as the ropes tbat hold the masts ; 
and though the king's officers are present to prevent them overloading 
the ship, yet generally they are so deep iu; the water that they are 
but just above it ; and with all these there are m&^ goods left 
behind in the magazines of the port; for th€ la^d, is so. productive of 
everything that the only misfortune of it is. to want a vent for its 
product, Avliich is enough to supply another lima,, or Potosi,. if there 
were one. 

It is upon this foundation that it is affirmed, generally that no 
country in all America has a more solid establishment than Chili ; for 
in proportion to the increase of inhabitants in Peru, Chili must increase 
too in riches, since it is able to supply any great consumption, and yet 
have enough of its own in all the kinds of corn, wine, flesh, oil, salt, 
fruit, pulse, wool, flax, hides, tallow, chamois leather, ropes, wood, and 
timber, medicinal remedies, pitch, fish of all kinds, metals of all sorts, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 2>D 

and amber. There wants silk ; and it is to be wislied it may never get 
thither but for ornament to the altars, for it is already the beggaring 
of the country, by reason o£ ' the great expense in rich clothes, particu- 
larly by the women, who are not outdone in this even by the bravest 
ladies of Madrid or other parts ; but yet the land is so proper for the 
silkworms that if any one carries the seed of them there I am persuaded 
it will take with great abundance, the mulberry-trees being already 
there as full-grown and in as great beauty as in Spain. 

The wax likewise comes from Europe, though there are bees which 
make both honey and wax. Pepper and other East India spices come 
from abroad, though there is a kind of spice which supplies the want of 
them very well; and the authors mentioned above say that in the 
Straits of Magellan there is good cinnamon, and that on those coasts 
there grow trees of a most fragrant smell in their bark, and which have 
a taste like pepper, but of a more quick savour. 

In the whole kingdom the herbage and the fishing are in common, 
as also the hunting, and the woods for fuel and timber, and the same is 
practised as to the salt-mines. There is no imposition on trade through 
all the kingdom, every one being free to transport what goods he pleases 
either within or without the kingdom. 

The authority we have so far quoted goes on to tell us something of 
the Chilian volcanoes, v\rith which we shall conclude this chapter. 

There are in this Cordillera, or chain of mountains, sixteen 
volcanoes which at several times have broken out, and caused effects 
no less admirable than terrible and astonishing to all the country ; 
amongst the rest that which happened in the year 1640 is worthy to be 
remembered. It broke out in the enemy's country, in the territory 
of the Cacique Aliante, burning with so much force that the mountain, 
cleaving in two, sent forth pieces of rock all on fire with so horrible a 
noise that it was heard many leagues off, just like the going off^ of 
cannon. 

The first of these volcanoes is called the volcano of Copiago, and 
is in about twenty-six degrees altitude of the jjole, about the confines 
of Chili and Peru ; in thirty degrees is that of Coquimbo ; in thirty- 
one and a half is that of La Sigua ; in thirty-five that of Peteroa ; in 
thirty-six and a half that of Chilan ; in thirty-seven and a quarter 
that of Antoco ; this is followed by that of Notuco in thirty-eight and 
a half ; that of Villarica is in thirty-nine and three-quarters ; near this 
another, whose name I know not, in forty and a quarter ; and in forty- 



300 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

one is tliat of Osorno ; and near that in less than a quarter of a 
degree that of Guanauchuca ; and in little more than forty-two 
degrees that of Quehuczabi ; and last of all are two more, one without 
a name, in forty-four ; and that of St. Clement, which is forty-five 
and a half. 

These are the known volcanoes of Chili ; we have no knowledge of 
others which may be as far as the Terra del Fuego, because till this 
time our discoveries have not gone so far ; but there is no doubt there 
are some, and they are to be found before one comes to Chili, in the 
kingdoms of Peru and Quito. Diego Ordonnes de Salvos, in his book, 
Voyage tJirougli the Whole World, mentions among the rest one that is 
near the fall of the river in the Valley of Cola ; it is on a mountain in 
the form of a sugar-loaf, like that of La Plata in Potosi, and that in 
winter it throws out so much smoke and ashes that it burns up all the 
grass within two leagues round about it. 

He likewise mentions another in the entrance of the province of 
Los Quixos, near the town of Maspa, and speaks of another, which 
broke out near Quito, in a mountain called the Pinta, and he affirms 
that the ashes fly two leagues and a half from the mountain, and he has 
seen them lie on the houses about four feet deep in the nearest places 
to the mountain. Lastly, he tells of that of Adriquipa, which buried 
the vineyards, and had almost overwhelmed the city. To this day 
there are seen the effects of that desolation, which ruined many 
families by destroying their houses and possessions. At the same time 
he observes that the earthquakes, which before were frequent, ceased 
from that time, and this may be the reason perhaps why the earth- 
quakes in Chili have always been considerably less than that of Peru, 
because Chili has more breathing-holes for the vapours' to exhale by. 

There is no room for doubting of the immense riches which these 
mountains inclose in their bowels, for it is a certain argument, and 
proves it, to see only the mineral riches of Chili, which are, as it were, 
indices of what may be contained in these rocks, as the rivers which 
fertilise the country are a proof of the unexhausted fountains contained 
in the rocks and precipices. 

I think, he says, two causes may be assigned why these riches do not 
manifest themselves and become more. The first is that general state 
reason and inviolable maxim among the Indians to conceal and not to 
discover them to any other nation. This they observe so punctually 
that it is among them a capital crime, punishable Avith death, to break 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



301 



silence in this matter, which they make sacred and indispensable, and 
if any one among them, either of interest, negligence, or any other 
motive of conveniency, discovers anything of this kind, his death is 
infallible, and no power on earth can save him. 

I remember on this subjecb that some gentlemen, having, by 




presents, insinuations, and flattering, come to the knowledge of some 
treasure by the means of an Indian, and prevailed with him at last to 
guide them to some very rich mines in a remote mountain, he begged 
earnestly of them to be secret, or otherwise he was a dead man, let 
them take never so much care of him. They promised him accordingly, 
and so they set out, and he brought them through horrid rocks and 



302 THE GOLDEN AJ^IERICAS. 

precipices, where it looked as if never man had set his foot, nor scarce 
any living animal. Every day they met with certain marks which the 
Indian had told them of beforehand. First, after so many days they 
discovered a red mountain, and then at a certain distance from that a 
black one on the left hand ; then a valley which began from a monstrous 
high mountain or rock ; then at so many leagues a mountain of chalk. 
All which signs the guide went showing them, verifying thereby the 
relation he had given them beforehand, and comforting them up to 
endure the hardships by the hopes of fnlfiUing at last their expectation, 
and seeing their labour rewarded. 

Their provisions failed them, and they were forced to come back to 
provide more to pursue their enterprise. The Indian was always in 
fear of being discovered, knowing that he ran in that no less a hazard 
than that of his life. They returned then to a town, and to secure their 
Indian from his fright. of being discovered they locked him up in a 
room very safe ; but the night before they were to set out again, 
without ever being able to discover how it was done, for there were no 
signs by the door of anybody's going in that way, as they went to call 
the Indian in the morning they found him strangled, by which means, 
being deprived of their intent, and having lost the hopes of satisfymg 
their dssire, they returned to their own homes, though with a reso- 
lution to try again, being encouraged by so much they had already 
discovered. 

The other reason to be assigned for not seeking after these mines is 
the great plenty of everything necessary for life, so that hunger, which 
is the prompter of covetous desires, being wanting, there are few that 
care to run a hazard and lose their conveniences at home to go through 
impracticable deserts upon search for hidden treasures, particularly as 
there is so much around them so much easier to get at. 

Such is the account of an early visitor to Chili. 



THE GOLDEI^ AMEKICAS. ' 803 



CHAPTER XII. 

South American Llanos — Herds of Oxen — Nature of tlis Soil — The Mirage — Wild 
Horses — Dry Season — Insects — The B,aiay Season — Overflow of the Sivers 
— Enemies — Crocodile and Jaguar — The Gymnotus — La Plata — Mountainous 
Districts — The Pampas— Sir Francis Head's Description of the Eegions-^ 
Climate of the Pampafe — The Pampas Indians — The Gauchos Preparing for 
War — ^A Fierce Encounter — Ealling the Christians — The Eeligion of the 
Pampas Indians — Fondness for Strong Drinli: — An Excellent Precaution — 
Humboldt's Views of Nature. 

TT7E may now refer to some of the leading physical peculiarities of 
^ ^ South and Central America. 

Since the discovery of the new continent, Humboldt informs us its 
plains (Uanos) have become habitable to man. Here and there towns 
have sprung up on the shores of the steppe-rivers, built to facilitate 
the intercourse between the coasts and Guiana (the Orinoco districts). 
Everywhere throughout these vast districts the inhabitants have begun 
to rear cattle. At distances of a day's journey from each other we see 
huts woven together with reeds and thongs, and covered with ox-hides. 
Innumerable herds of oxen, horses, and mules (estimated at the peace- 
ful period of my travels at a million and a-half) roam over the steppe 
in a state of wildness. The prodigious increase of these animals of 
the Old World is the more remarkable from the numerous perils with 
which, in these regions, they have to contend. 

When beneath the vertical rays of the bright and cloudless sun of 
the tropics, the parched sward crumbles into dust ; then the indurated 
soil cracks and bursts as if rent asunder by some mighty earthquake, 
and if, at such a time, two opposite currents of air, by conflict moving 
in rapid gyrations, come in contact with the earth, a singular spectacle 
presents itself. Like funnel-shaped clouds, their apexes touching the 
earth, the sands rise in vapoury form through the rarefied air in the 
electrically-charged centre of the whirling current, sweeping on like 
the rushing water- spout which strikes such terror into the heart of the 
mariner. A dim and sallow light gleams from the lowering sky over 
the dreary plain. The horizon suddenly contracts, and the heart of 
the traveller sinks with dismay as the wide steppe seems to close upon 
him on all sides. The hot and dusty earth forms a cloudy veil, which 
shrouds the heavens from view, and increases the stifling oppression of 



304 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

the atmospliere ; while the east wind, when it blows over the long- 
heated soil, instead of cooling, adds to the burning glow. 

Gradually, too, the pools of water, which had been protected from 
evaporisation by the now seared foliage of the fan-palm, disappear. As 
in the icy North animals become torpid from cold, so here the croco- 
dile and the boa-constrictor lie wrapt in unbroken sleep, deeply buried 
in the dried soil. Everywhere the drought announces death, yet every- 
where the thirsting wanderer is deluded by the phantom of a moving, 
undulating, watery surface, created by the deceptive play of the re- 
flected rays of light (the mirage). A narrow stratum separates the 
ground from the distant palm-trees, which seem to hover aloft, owing 
to the contact of currents of air having different degrees of heat, and 
therefore of density. Shrouded in dark clouds of dust, and tortured 
by hunger and burning thirst, oxen and horses scour the plain, the one 
bellowing dismally, the others, with outstretched necks, snuffing the 
wind in the endeavour to detect, by the moisture in the air, the vicinity 
of some pool of water not yet wholly evaporated. The mule, more 
cautious and cunning, adopts another method of allaying his thirst. 
There is a globular and aitlculated plant, the melocactus, which incloses 
under its prickly integument an aqueous pulp. After carefully striking 
away the prickles with his fore-feet, the mule cautiously ventures to 
apply his lips to imbibe the cooling thistle-juice. But the draught 
from this living vegetable spring is not always unattended by danger, 
and these animals are often found to have been lamed by the puncture 
of the cactus thorn. 

Even if the burning heat of day be succeeded by the cool freshness 
of night, here always of equal length, the wearied ox and horse enjoy 
no repose; huge bats now attack the animals during sleep, and, 
vampire-like, suck their blood, or, fastening on their backs, raise 
festering wounds, in which mosquitoes, hippobosces, and a host of other 
stinging insects burrow and nestle. Such is the miserable existence of 
these poor animals when the heat of the sun has absorbed the waters 
from the surface of the earth. 

When, after a long drought, the genial season of rain arrives, the 
scene suddenly changes ; the deep azure of the hitherto cloudless sky 
assumes a lighter hue. Scarcely can the dark space in the constellation 
of the Southern Cross be distinguished at night. The mild phos- 
phorescence of the Magellanic clouds fades away. Even the vertical 
stars of the constellations Aquila and Ophiuchus shine with a flickering 






T 



I u 



i 



iS, 



'm^mw^ 



% £L^^ 



^:^7 



THE GOLDEN A^IERICAS. 



305 



and less planetary light. Like some distant mountain, a single cloud 
is seen rising perpendicularly on the southern horizon : misty vapours 
collect and gradually overspread the heavens, whilst distant thunder 
proclaims the approach of the vivifying rain. 

Scarcely is the surface of the earth moistened before the teeming 
steppe becomes covered with ryllingise, with the many-panicled paspa- 
ium, and a variety of grasses. Excited by the power of light, the herba- 




CEOCODILE AND JAGU VR. 



ceous mimosa unfolds its dormant, drooping leaves, hailing, as it were, the 
rising sun in chorus with the matin song of the birds and the opening 
flowers of aquatics. Horses and oxen, buoyant with life and enjoy- 
ment, roam over the plains. The luxuriant grass hides the beautifully- 
spotted jaguar, who, lurking in safe concealment, and carefully mea- 
suring the extent of the leap, darts, like the Asiatic tiger, with a 
cat-like bound on his passing prey. 

At times, according to the account of the natives, the humid clay 
on the banks of the morasses is seen to rise slowly in broad flakes. 
Accompanied by a violent noise, as on the eruption of a mud volcano 

X 



S06 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

tlie upheaved earth is hurled up high into the air. Those who are 
familiar with the phenomenon fly from it ; for a colossal water-snak& 
or a mailed and scaly crocodile, awakened from its trance by the first 
fall of rain, is about to burst from its tomb. When the rivers bounding 
the plain to the south, as the Arauca, the Apure, and the Payara, 
gradually overflow their banks. Nature compels these creatures to live 
as amphibious animals, which, during the first half of the year, were 
perishing with thirst on the waterless and dusty plain. A part of the 
steppe now presents the appearance of a vast inland sea. The mares 
retreat with their foals to the highest banks, which project like islands 
above the spreading waters. Many foals are drowned, man>' are seized 
by crocodiles, crushed by their serrated teeth, and devoured. Horses- 
and oxen may not unfrequently be seen which have escaped from the 
fury of this bloodthirsty and gigantic lizard, bearing on their legs the 
marks of its pointed teeth. 

This spectacle involuntarily reminds the contemplative observer of 
the adaptability granted by an all-provident Natiue to certain aipLimals 
and plants. Like the farinaceous fruits of Ceres, the ox and hoase 
have followed man over the whole surface of the earth— from the- 
Ganges to the Rio de la Plata, and from the sea coast of Africa to the 
mountainous plain of Antisana, which lies higher than the Peak of 
Teneriffe. in the -one region the northern birch, in the other the date- 
palm, protects the wearied ox from the sun. The same species of 
animal which contends in Eastern Europe with bears and wolves i& 
exposed in a different latitude to the attacks of tigers and crocodiles. 

The crocodile and the jaguar are not, however, the only enemies 
that threaten the South American horse, for even among the fishes it 
has a dangerous foe. The marshy waters of Bera and Rastro are filled 
with innumerable electric eels, who can at pleasure discharge from 
every part of their slimy, yellow-specked bodies a deadening shock. 
This species of gymnotus is about five or six feet in length. It is 
powerful enongh to kill the largest animals when it discharges its 
nervous organs at one shock in a favourable direction. It was once 
found necessary to change the line of road from Uritucu across the 
steppe, owing to the number of horses which, in fording a certain 
rivulet, annually fell a sacrifice to these gymnoti, which had accumu- 
lated there in gi^eat numbers. All other species of fish shun the 
vicinity of these formidable creatures. Even the angler, when fishing 
from the high bank, is in dread of an electric shock. 



THE GOLUEJs- AMERICAS. 3O7 

La Plata, bounded on the west by the great Cordillera of the Andes, 
and on the north-west by the province of Salta, is almost wholly moun- 
tainous. Some points of the Despioblado chain in Salta rise probably 
to the height of thirteen hundred feet ; and in Cordova are isolated 
chains which anywhere but in the neighbourhood of the Andes would 
be considered as mountains. StiU, however, says McCuUoch, after 
aUowing for these and other deductions, five-sixths of the country 
consist of plains, several of which are of vast extent. But notwith- 
standing its freedom from mountains, and the number and magnitude 
of its rivers, it is far from being the fertile region which is generally 
supposed, and a large portion of its surface is entirely barren. In the 
north is the south portion of the immense tract known as the Gran 
Chaco, a plain which covers an area of at least 120,000 square miles. 
The great southern plain, or that which extends over the whole country 
south of the sard degree of latitude, covers an area of 300,000 square^ 
miles, and is called the Pampas. The following interesting particulars 
with regard to the locality are adapted from the pen of Sir Francis 
Head : — 

On leaving Buenos Ayres, the first of these regions is covered for 
one hundred and eighty miles with clover and thistles alternately ; the 
second region, which extends for four hundi^ed and fifty miles, produces 
long grass ; and the third region, which reaches the base of the Cor- 
dillera, is a grove of trees and shrubs. The second and third of these 
regions have nearly the same appearance throughout the year, for the 
trees and shrubs are evergreens, and the immense plain of grass only 
changes its colour from green to brown ; but the first region varies 
with the four seasons of the year in a most extraordinary manner. In 
winter the leaves of the thistle are large and luxuriant, and the whole 

I surface of the country has the rough appearance of a turnip field. The 
clover in this season is extremely rich and strong, and the sight of the 

I wild cattle grazing in full liberty on such pasture is very beautiful. In 
spring the clover has vanished, the leaves of the thistle have extended 
along the ground, and the country still looks like a rough crop of 
turnips. In less than a month the whole region becomes a luxuriant 
wood of enormous thistles, wliich have suddenly shot up to a height of 
iten or eleven feet, and are all in full bloom. The path is hemmed in 
on both sides ; the view is comparatively obstructed— not an animal is to 
be seen ; and the stems of the thistles are so close to each other, and so 
strong, that, independent of the prickles with which they are armed, 

I 



308 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

tliey form an impenetrable barrier. The sudden growth of these plants 
is quite astonishing, and though it would be an unusual misfortune in 
military history, yet it is really possible that an invading army, un- 
-acquainted with the country, might be imprisoned by these thistles 
.before it has had time to escape from them. The summer is not over 
before the scene undergoes another rapid change : the thistles suddenly 
lose their sap and verdure, their heads droop, the leaves shrink and fade, 
the stems become black and dead, and they remain rattling with the 
breeze one against another until the violence of the pampero, or hurri- 
cane, levels them with the ground, where they rapidly decompose and 
disappear ; the clover rushes up, and the scene is again verdant. The 
vast region of grass in the Pampas for four hundred and fifty miles is 
without a weed, and the region of wood is equally extraordinary. The 
trees are not crowded, but in their growth such beautiful order is 
observed, that one may gallop between them in every direction. The 
whole country is in such beautiful order that if cities and millions of 
inhabitants could suddenly be planted at proper intervals and situations, 
the people would have nothing to do but to drive out their cattle to 
graze, and to plough whatever quantity of ground their wants require. 
The climate of the Pampas is subject to a great diiference of tempe- 
rature in winter and summer, though the changes are very regular. 
The winter is about as cold as our month of November, and the ground 
at sunrise is always covered with white frost, but the ice is seldom more 
than one-tenth of an inch thick. In summer the sun is oppressively 
hot. The diiference, however, between the atmosphere of Mendoza, 
San Luis, and Buenos Ayres, which are all nearly under the same lati- 
tude, is very great ; in the two former, or in the regions of wood and 
grass, the air is extremely dry. There is no dew at night ; in the hottest 
weather there is apparently very little perspiration, and the dead 
animals lie on the plain dried up in their skins. But in the province of 
Buenos Ayres, or in the region of thistles and clover, vegetation clearly 
announces the humidity of the climate, and the dead animals on the 
plain are in a rapid state of putrefaction. On arriving at Buenos Ayres, 
the walls of the houses are so damp that it is cheerless to enter them ; 
and sugar, as also all deliquescent salts, are there found nearly dis- 
solved. This dampness, however, does not appear to be unhealthy. 
The south part of the Pampas is inhabited by Indians who have no 
fixed abode, but wander from place to place as the herb£^ge around 
them becomes consumed by their cattle. 



it 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 309 

The north part and the rest of the provinces of La Plata are inhabited" 
by a fev/ straggling individuals, and a few small groups of people, who 
live together only because they were born together. The travelling 
across the Pampas is really a very astonishing effort. The country has ' 
no road but a track which is constantly changed. The huts, termed 
posts, are at different distances, but upon an average about twenty 
miles from each other, and in travelling with carriages it is necessary' 
to send a man before to request the Gauclios to collect their horses. The- 
country is intersected with streams, rivulets, and rivers, ^ith. pantanos 
or marshes, through which it is absolutely necessary to drive. In one 
instance the carriage, strange as it may seem, goes through a lake, 
which of course is not deep. The banks of the rivulets are often very 
precipitous, and I constantly remarked that we drove over and through 
places which, in Europe, any military officer would, I believe, without 
hesitation, report as impassable. The most independent way of travelling 
is, however, on horseback, without baggage, and without an attendant. 
In this case the traveller has to saddle his own horse, and to sleep at 
night upon the ground on his saddle ; and as he is unable to carry any 
provisions, he must throw himself completely on the feeble resources of 
the country, and live on little else than beef and water. 

Sir Francis Head, in his invaluable book. Journeys Across the 
Pampas^ furnishes the following graphic account of the Pampas- 
Indians : — 

The Indians of whom I heard the most were those who inhabit the 
vast unknown plains of the Pampas, and who are all horsemen, or rather 
pass their lives on horseback. The life they lead is singularly interest- 
ing. In spite of the cUmate, which is burning hot in summer and 
freezing in winter, these brave men, who have never yet been subdued, 
are entirely naked, and have not even a covering for their head. They 
live together in tribes, each of which is governed by a cacique ; but 
they have no fixed residence. Where the pasture is good there are 
they to be found, until it is consumed by their horses, and they then 
instantly move to a more verdant spot. They have neither bread, fruit, 
nor vegetables, but they subsist entirely on the flesh of their mares, 
which they never ride ; and the only luxury in which they indulge is 
that of washing their hair in mare's blood. 

The occupation of their lives is war, which they consider as their 
noble and most natural employment ; and they declare that the proudest 
attitude of the human figure is when, bending over his horse, man is 



310 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

riding at his enemy. The principal weapon which they use is a spear 
eighteen feet long ; they manage it with great dexterity, and are able 
to give it a tremulous motion which has often shaken the sword from 
the hand of their European adversaries. From being constantly on 
horseback the Indians can scarcely walk. This may seem singular, but 
from their infancy they are accustomed to it. Living in a boundless 
plain, it may easily be conceived that all their occupations and amuse- 
ments must necessarily be on horseback ; and from riding so many hours 
the legs become weak, which naturally gives a disinclination to an exer- 
tion which every day becomes more fatiguing ; besides, the pace at 
which they can skim over the plains on horseback is so swift, in com- 
parison to the rate they could crawl on foot, that the latter must seem 
a cheerless occupation. 

As a military nation they are much to be admired, and their system 
of warfare is more noble, unincumbered, and perfect in its nature than 
that of any other nation in the world. When they assemble, either to 
attack their enemies or to invade the country of the Christians, with 
wh^m they are now at war, they collect large troops of horses and | 
mares, and then, uttering the wild shriek of war, they star b at a gallop. 
-As soon as the horses they ride are tired, they vault upon the bare 
backs of fresh ones, keeping their best until they positively see their 
enemies. The whole country affords pasture to their horses, and when- 
ever they choose to stop they have only to kill some mares. Theij 
ground is the bed on which from their infancy they have always*' 
slept, the flesh of mares is the food on which they have ever been accus- 
tomed to subsist, and they therefore meet their enemies with light hearts 
and full stomachs, the only advantages which they think men ought to 
desire. 

How different this style of warfare is from the march of an army of 
our brave, but limping, foot-sore men, crawling in the rain through 
muddy lanes, bending under their packs, while in their rear the mules 
and forage, and pack saddles, and baggage, and waggons, and women, 
bullocks lying on the ground unable to proceed, form a scene of despair 
and confusion which must always attend the army that walks instead of 
rides, and that eats cows instead of horses. How impossible would it 
be for a European army to contend with such an aerial force ! As weU 
might it attempt to drive the swallows from the country as to harm 
these naked warriors. 

A body of these Indians (says Sir Francis) crossed my path as I was 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 311 

riding from Buenos Ayres to Mendoza and back. They had just had an 
engagement with the Rio Plata troops, who killed several of them, and 
they were lyiug naked and dead on the plain not far from the road. 
Several of the Gauchos who were engaged told me that the Indians had 
fought most gallantly, but that all their horses were tired, or they could 
never have been attacked ; the Gauchos, who themselves ride so beau- 
tifully, declare that it is impossible to ride with an Indian, for that the 
Indians' horses are so much better than theirs, and also that they have 
«uch a way of urging them on by their cries, and by a peculiar motion 
of their bodies, that even if they were to change horses, the Indians 
would beat them. The Gauchos all seemed to dread very much the 
Indians' spears. They said that some of los Barbaros (the Indians) 
charged without either bridle or saddle, and that in some instances they 
were hanging almost under the bellies of their horses, and shrieking so 
that the horses were afraid to face them. As the Indians' horses got 
tired they were met by fresh troops, and a great number of them were 
killed. 

To people accustomed to the cold passions of England it would be 
impossible to describe the savage, inveterate, furious hatred which 
exists between the Gauchos and the Indians. The latter invade 
the country for the ecstatic pleasure of murdering the Christians, and 
in the contests which take place between them mercy is unknown. 
Before I was quite aware of these feelings, I was galloping with a very 
fine-looking Gaucho, who had been fighting with the Indians, and after 
listening to his report of the killed and wounded, I happened very 
simply to ask him how many prisoners they had taken ? The man 
replied by a look which I shall never forget. He clenched his teeth, 
opened his lips, and then sawing his forefinger across his bare throat 
for a quarter of a minute, bending towards me, with his spur striking 
into his horse's side, he said, in a sort of low, choking voice, " Se ma tan 
todos " (We kill them all). But this fate is what the Indian firmly 
expects, and from his earliest youth is prepared to endure not only 
death but tortures, if the hard fortunes of war should throw him alive 
among his enemies ; and yet how many there are who accuse the Indians 
of that imbecility of mind which in war bears the name of cowardice ! 
The usual cause for this accusation is, that the Indians have almost 
always been known to fly from firearms. 

When first America was discovered the Spaniards were regarded by 
the Indians as divinities, and perhaps there was nothing which tended 



312 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

to give tliem this distinction more tlian their possessing weapons whichy 
resembling the lightning and the thunder of Heaven, sent death among 
them in a manner which they could not avoid or comprehend ; and 
although the Christians are no longer considered as divine, yet the 
Indians are so little accustomed to or u.nderstand the nature of firearms^ 
that it is natural to suppose the danger of these weapons is greater in 
their minds than the reality. 

Accustomed to war among themselves with the lance, it is a danger 
also that they have not been taught to encounter ; for it is well known 
that men can learn to meet danger, and that they become familiar with 
its face, when, if the mask be changed and it appear with unusual 
features, they again view it with terror. But even supposing that the 
Indians have no superstitious fear of firearms, but merely consider their 
positive effects, is it not natural that they should fear them? In 
Europe, or in England, what will people with sticks in their hands do 
against men who have firearms ? Why, exactly what the naked Indians 
have been accused of doing — run away. And who would not run 
away? 

But the life which the Indian leads cannot but satisfy any unpre- 
judiced person that he must necessarily possess high courage. His 
profession is war, his food is simple, and his body is in that state of 
health and vigour that he can rise naked from the plain on which he 
has slept, and proudly look upon his image which the white frost has 
marked out upon the grass, without inconvenience. What can we 
" men in buckram " say to this ? 

The life of such a people must (Sir Francis remarks) be very interest- 
ing, and I always regretted that I had not time to throw off my clothes 
and pay a visit to some of the tribes, which I should otherwise 
certainly have done, as, with proper precautions, there would have 
been little to fear ; for it would have been curious to have observed the 
young sporting about the plains in such a state of wild nature, and to- 
have listened to the sentiments and opinions of the old ; and I would 
gladly have shivered through the cold nights, and have lived upon, 
mare's flesh in the day, to have been a visitor among them. 

From individuals who had lived many years among them (Sir Francis 
continues), I was informed that the religion of the Pampas Indians, 
is very complicated. They believe in good spirits and bad ones. If 
any of their friends die before they have reached the natural term of 
life (which is very unusual), they consider that some enemy has pre- 



THE GOLDEN AIVIERICAS. 



31S 



vailed upon the evil spirit to kill their friend, and they assemble ta 
determine who this enemy can be. They then denounce vengeance 
against him. These disputes have very fatal consequences, and have 



W nillllflMFIIRIlfPliilll. 




Hhi:\ '^J'li' 



the political effect of alienating the tribes from one another, and of 
preventing that combination among the Indians which might maket 
ithem much dreaded by the Christians. 

They believe in a future state, to which they believe they will be 
transferred as soon as they die. They expect that they will then be. 



314 THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

•constantly drunk, also that they will always be hunting ; and as the 
Indians gallop over their plains at night, they wiU point with their 
long spears to constellations in the heavens, which they say are the 
figures of their ancestors, who, reeling in the firmament, are mounted 
aipon horses swifter than the wind, and are hunting ostriches. They 
bury their dead, but at the grave they kill several of their best horses, 
as they believe their deceased friend would otherwise have nothing to 
ride. Their marriages are very simple. The couple to be married, as 
soon as the sun sets, are desired to lie on the ground with their heads to- 
wards the west. They are then covered with the skin of a horse, and as 
soon as the sun rises at their feet they are pronounced to be married. 

The Indians are very fond of any intoxicating liquor, and when 
they are at peace with Mendoza and- some of the other provinces, they 
often bring skins of ostriches, and hides, to exchange for knives, spurs, 
and liquor. 

The day of their arrival they generally get drunk, but before they 
indulge in this amusement they deliberately deliver up to their cacique 
their knives, and any other weapon they possess, as they are fully 
aware that they will quarrel as soon as the wine gets into their heads. 
They then drink till they can hardly see, and fight, and scratch, and 
bite for the rest of the evening. The following day they devote tc^ , 
selling their goods, for they never wiU- part with them on tiije day on I 
which they resolve to be tipsy, as they conceive that in that state they 
would be unable to dispose of them to advantage. 

They will not sell theb skins for money, which they declare is of 
no use, but exchange them for knives, spurs, mate, and sugar. They 
refuse also to buy by weight, which they do not understand ; so they 
mark out upon a skin how much is to be covered with sugar^ or any- 
thing of the sort which they desire to receive in barter for their 
property. After their business is concluded they generally devote 
another day to Bacchus, and when they have got nearly sober they 
mount their horses, and with a loose rem, and with their new spurs, 
they stagger and gallop away to their wild plains. 

With regard to the sandy deserts of South America, they are chiefly 
found surrounding the broad waters of the Paraguay river, and south- 
ward, at some distance from the western banks of that river, extends 
the sandy desert of the Gran Charo, to which reference has abeady 
been made. The district of Atacama belongs to the department of 
Potosi, in Bolivia, and comprehends all the country of the Bolivian 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 315 

republic, wMch lies to tlie west of the Andes along the Pacific Ocean. 
It is divided into Upper and Lower. The lower country presents over 
nearly all its surface nothing but an uninhabited and uninhabitable 
-desert, consisting of wide plains covered with a dark brown, and in 
some places quite black, sand, with here and there a streak of white. 
In the plains rise some high ridges, and a few immense rounded knolls, 
but in no part are any traces of vegetation to be discovered. This 
-description is particularly applicable to the southern part, which 
extends towards the boundary of Chili, in which many Spaniards 
perished for want of water at the time of the first Conquest.* 
h lu connection with this subject we may here introduce a beautiful 
passage from Humboldt's Views of Nature. 

" At the foot of the lofty granitic range which, in the early age of 
our planet, revisited the irruption of the waters on the formation of the 
Caribbean Gulf, extends a vast and boundless plain. When the 
traveller turns from the Alpine valleys of Caraccas, and the island- 
studded Lake of Nicaragua, whose waters reflect the forms of the 
neighbouring bananas, when he leaves the fields verdant with the light 
and tender green of the Tahitian sugar-cane, or the sombre shade of 
the cacao groves, his eye rests in the south on steppes, whose seeming 
elevations disappear on the distant horizon. 

'' From the rich luxuriance of organic life, the astonished traveller 
suddenly finds himself on the dreary margin of a treeless waste. . . . 
Like a limitless expanse of waters, the steppe fills the mind with a 
sense of the infinite. . . . But the aspect of the ocean, its bright 
surface diversified with rippling or gently-swelling waves, is productive 
of pleasurable sensations — while the steppe lies stretched before us, 
cold and monotonous, like the naked stony crust of some desolate 
planet. 

*'In all latitudes Kature presents the phenomenon of these vast 
plains, and each has some pecuhar character or physiognomy, deter- 
mined by diversity of soil and climate and by elevation above the level 
of the sea. 

"In Northern Europe the heaths, which, covered by one sole form 
of vegetation to the exclusion of all others, extend from the extremity 
of Jutland to the mouth of the Scheldt, may be regarded as true 
steppes. . . . 



* Hughes. 



316 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

" The plains in the interior of Africa present a grander and im- 
posing spectacle. Like the wide expanse of the Pacific they have 
remained unexplored until recent times. They are portions of a sea of 
sand, which towards the east separates fruitful regions from each 
other, or incloses them like islands, as the desert near the basaltic 
mountains of Harudseh, where, in the oasis of Siwah, rich in date- 
trees, the ruins of the Temple of Ammon indicate the venerable seat of 
early civilisation. Neither dew nor rain refreshes these barren wastes, 
or unfolds the germs of vegetation within the glowing depths of the 
earth ; for everywhere rising columns of hot air dissolve the vapours 
and disperse the passing clouds. 

"Wherever the desert approaches the Atlantic Ocean, as between 
Wadi Xun and the White Cape, the moist sea air rushes in to fill the 
vacuum caused by these vertically ascending currents of air. The 
navigator, in steering towards the mouth of the Kiver Gambia, through 
a sea thickly carpeted with weeds, infers, by the sudden cessation of 
the tropical east wind, that he is near the far-spreading and radiating 
sandy desert. 

' ' Flocks of swift-footed ostriches and herds of gazelles wander over 
this boundless space. \\'ith the exception of the newly-discovered 
group of oasis, rich in springs, whose verdant banks are frequented by 
nomadic tribes of Tibbos and Tuaricks, the whole of the African 
deserts may be regarded as uninhabitable by man. It is only periodi- 
cally that the neighbouring civilised nations venture to traverse them. 
On tracks whose undeviating course was determined by commercial 
intercourse thousands of years ago, the long line of caravans passes 
from Tafilet to Timbuctoo, or from Mourzouk to Bornon ; daring enter- 
prises, the practicability of which depends on the existence of the 
camel, the ship of the desert, as it is termed in the ancient legends of 
the East. 

" On the mountainous range of Central Asia, between the Gold or 
Altai Mountain and the Kuen-lun, from the Chinese Wall to the 
further side of the Celestial Mountains, and towards the Sea of Aral, 
over a space of several thousand miles, extend, if not the highest, 
certainly the largest steppes in the world. . . . The vegetation 
of the Asiatic steppes, which are sometimes hilly and interspersed 
with pine forests, is in its groupings far more varied than that of the 
Llanos and the Pampas of Caraccas and Buenos Ayres. The more 
beautiful portions of the plains, inhabited by Asiatic pastoral tribes, 



II 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



317 



are adorned with lowly shrubs of luxuriant white-blossomed rosacese ; 
crown imperials (fritillarias), cypripedese ; and tulips. As the torrid 
zone is in general distinguished by a tendency in the vegetable forms 
to become arborescent, so we also find that some of the Asiatic steppes 
of the temperate zones are characterised by the remarkable heights to 
which flowering plants attain ; as, for instance, saussureee, and other 




SOUTH AMERICAN PUMA, 



synantherese, all siliquose plants, and particularly numerous species of 
astragalus. On crossing the trackless portions of the herb-covered 
steppes in the low carriages of the Tartars, it is necessary to stand 
upright in order to ascertain the direction to be pursued through the 
copse-like and closely-crowded plants that bend under the wheels. 
Some of these steppes are covered with grass ; others with succulent, 
evergieen, articulated alkaline plants; while many are radiant with 



318 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

the eifulgence of lichen-like tufts of salt, scattered irregularly over ther 
clayey soil like new-fallen snow. . . . 

" Like the greater part of the Desert cf Sahara, the Llanos, the 
most northern plains of South America, lie within the torrid ^one. 
Twice in every year they change their whole aspect, during one-half of 
it appearing waste and barren like the Libyan desert ; during the 
other covered with verdure, like many of the elevated steppes of 
Central Asia." 



CHAPTER XIIL 

Colombia— Its Political Divisions — Aspect of the Country — ^Its Moimtain Eange 
— Pampas, Llanos, Savannahs — ^Wealth of the .Country — TbeiRearl Fishery — 
Agriculture— ^ Great Natural Biches — ^^Ecuador — New 'Granada — Venezuela. 

/^'QLOMBIA is an extensive region in the north ^art rof South 
^^ America. It is bounded on the north by the CaEibboan 'Sea ; ojh 
the east by S^ritish Guiana and iBrazil ; on -the south ]by 'Brazil and 
i^eru ; and -on the west ;by the Pacific jQc^an and the republics of 
Ceiitral Ameirica. it; includes, 4n 1,1'55,000 square mil^, the repiibiUas 
of iNew Granada, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The geographical division 
M ithe country is into three zones ; the first compidses the country 
S>etWfeen the ^Pacific 'Oc^an and the Caribfeea^ ,Sea and the Andes; 
#ie second the mountainous region ; and the third the immense 
•savannalis which stretch south and east to rthe Amazon, and =the 
mountains bordeiing on the ^Orinoco. 

The.great Cordillera of the Andes enters thejprovinceof Loxa from 
the south, where it is nearly .fifteen rthousand feet i^i ;he:^ht.; # divides 
into two parallel ridges, in the elevated valley between which, nine 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, Quito and other towns are 
situated. East of this valley rise the summits of Copaurcu, sixteen 
thousand three hundred and eighty feet, Tungaragua, sixteen thousand 
seven hundred and twenty, Cotopaxi, seventeen thousand nine hundred 
and fifty, and Guyambu, eighteen thousand one hundred and eighty 
feet ; and on its west side those of Chimborazo, twenty thousand one 
hundred, Heniga, sixteen thousand three hundred and two, and 
Petchincha, fifteen thousand three hundred and eighty feet high; all 
covered with perpetual snows, from amidst which torrents of flame 
and 'lava have frequently burst and desolated the surrounding oountry. 
These two ranges -afterwards unite, but near one degree north again 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 319^ 

separate, inclosing the lofty valley of Pastos, bounded by the still 
active volcanoes of Azufsal, Gambal, and others, as well as the extinct 
one of Chiles. Beyond Pastos the Cordilleras consist of three ranges, 
the most west, the elevation of which is generally less than fiv& 
thousand feet, follows the coast of the Pacific, and terminates in the 
Isthmus of Panama ; the central range is interposed between the 
valleys of the Cauca and Magdalen rivers, and terminates near 
Mompox; and the third, being the most east and highest range, 
extends to the extremity of the Parian promontory. This last-named 
range divides the waters which flow into the Orinoco on its east from 
the Magdaiena, Zulia, Tocuyco, and their affluents on its west side. 
Many of its summits reach above the limit of perpetual snow ; and it 
has numerous lower summits, called paramos, which rise to ten 
thousand or twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea, and are- 
constantly enveloped in damp and thick fogs. The city of Bogota, 
eight thousand one hundred feet above the sea, is built on a table- land 
formed by this mountain range, as are the towns of Migua, San Felipe- 
el Fuerte, Barquesimoto, and Tocuyo ; but these are at a much lower 
elevation than Bogota, the mountain decreasing in height very con- 
siderably north of Merida. The mean elevation of the Andes in 
Colombia is about eleven thousand one hundred feet ; their altitude is- 
greatest near the equator. In Venezuela there is another mountain 
system, unconnected with the Andean, from which it is separated by 
; the Orinoco, and the plains of Caraccas, Yarinas, and those in the 
;east parts of New Granada. This system has been called the 
I Cordillera, or Sierra of Parima. It is less a chain than a collection of 
: granitic mountains, separated by small plains, and not uniformly dis- 
I posed in lines ; its mean height is not above three thousand five 
• hundred feet, although some summits rise to upwards of eight 
thousand feet above the level of the sea. 

Colombia includes the most northerly of the three great basins of 
the South American continent, the llanos of Varinas and Caracca&, 
which, like the pampas of Buenos Ayres, consist of savannahs or 
steppes devoid of large trees. These, in the rainy season, appear from 
the high lands as a boundless extent of verdure, but in time of drought 
they are a complete desert. Humboldt remarks that "there is some- 
thing awful, but sad and gloomy, in the uniform aspect of these 
steppes." "I know not," he says, "whether the first sight of the 
llanos excites less astonishment than that of the Andes, The plains of 



S20 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

the west and north, of Europe present but a feeble image of these. 
All around us the plains seemed to ascend towards the sky, and that 
vast and profound solitude appeared like an ocean covered with sea- 
weeds." The chief characteristic of these steppes, like those of North 
Asia, is the absolute flat of one hundred and eighty leagues which 
•extends from the mouths of the Orinoco to Araure and Ospinos, and from 
San Carlos to the savannahs of the Caqueta for two hundred leagues. 
This resemblance to the surface of the sea strikes the imagination most 
powerfully where the plains are altogether destitute of palm-trees, and 
where the mountains of the shore and of the Orinoco are so distant 
that they cannot be seen. Occasionally, however, fractured strata of 
sandstone, or compact limestone, stand four or five feet higher than 
the plain, and extend for three or four leagues along it ; and convex 
eminences of a very trifling height separate the streams which flow to 
the coast from those that join the Orinoco. The phenomena of the 
mirage, and the apparitions of large lakes, with an undulating surface, 
may frequently be observed. These savannahs are watered by the 
numerous streams which form the Meta, the Apure, and finally the 
Orinoco, and the periodical overflowings of which convert the whole 
country, during five months of the year, into an inland sea. The 
■equally well- watered plains of Ecuador are intersected by numerous 
large branches of the Amazon, and form a part of the great central 
basin of the continent.* 

Cocoa, coffee, cotton, indigo, sugar, tobacco, hides, cattle, and 
Brazil wood are the principal articles of culture and commerce ; the 
grain and the nutritious roots known in the West Indies by the name 
of ground provisions, are produced only in sujQB.cient quantities for 
home consumption. Maize is grown everywhere, and when ripe is 
pounded in wooden mortars into a coarse meal, there beijig no more 
perfect machinery for grinding it. Wheat is grown on the higher 
lands, especially in New Granada, where it succeeds as well as in 
England, and often yields forty bushels an acre ; two crops may be 
produced in a year. A substitute for bread is found in cassava, which 
is procured by a process similar to that for making starch from the 
yuca root ; the plantain is to the mass of the natives what the potato 
has become to the poor of Ireland ; the rice of Colombia is indifferent. 
Cocoa (properly the cacao nut) is principally grown in Venezuela, on 

* McGulloch. 



1 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 321 

' the rich soil of the coast, in Yarinas, and Guayaquil. It does not come 
into full bearing tiU after eight or nine years' growth, but after that 
continues in produce from twenty to thirty years, bearing two crops a 
year with little trouble or expense. Previously to the revolution, 
Venezuela yielded nearly two hundred thousand fanegas — a fanega of 
land being about two acres and a half English — of one hundred and 
ten pounds each, the value of which was nearly five million dollars ; 
this quantity at that time was two-thirds of all the cacao then made 
use of. The cultivation of cacao has, however, diminished ; that of 
coffee having been in part substituted for it. Coffee has been intro- 
duced into almost all the temperate valleys of Venezuela, and the 
province of Santa Martha and Mariquita in New Granada; but its 
culture is conducted with less care than in the West Indian Islands. 
Its produce and the trade in it have, however, increased rapidly since 
the revolutionary war, and it now forms by far the greatest article of 
export. 

Cotton is grown in all parts of the country, but principally in the 
valleys of Aragua, and the provinces Cartagena and Maracaybo. The 
produce is said to be inferior in quality to that from the uplands of 
North America, which is in great measure owing to the defective mode 
generally followed of cleaning and depriving it of the seed. In the 
province Cartagena the plant is grown upon newly-cleared land, be- 
tween successive crops of maize. Before the revolution, the quantity 
exported from Caraccas amounted to between two and three million 
pounds, and the export from the coast of New Granada was still 
greater ; at present its growth for export is insignificant. Indigo is 
cultivated principally in the valleys of Aragua and the province 
Varinas, and formerly was exported in large quantities, but the com- 
petition in this article which British skill and capital has produced iu 
Hindostan, materially affects this branch of agriculture. The tobacco 
of Caraccas is greatly superior to that of Virginia, yielding only to 
that of Cuba and the Kio Negro ; in some places, as at Cumanacoa, it 
is even superior to the latter. Under the Spanish regime, the culture 
and sale of tobacco were monopolised by the government. All indi- 
viduals authorised to raise it were registered, and the entire produce 
was brought to the government depots (estancos), and sold to its agents 
fit a certain fixed price, who again sold it to the consumer at a large 
fidvance. The Colombian congress originally abolished this among 
other monopolies ; but finding that they could not spare the revenue 



322 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

of whicli it was productive, it was again revived. The cultivation of 
the plant had, however, from some cause or other, so much declined, 
that the revenue derived from the monopoly ceased to be of any 
material importance, and a law passed the congress for its abolition on 
the 1st of June, 18:^4. The works (trapicTies) erected in different parts 
of the country for the fabrication of sugar were mostly destroyed 
during the revolutionary war, and very few of them have since been 
repaired. No sugar is now exported, and the half -inspissated juice of 
the cane is only used for confectionery, or is eaten by the natives with 
their chocolate. 

From what has been said it will be evident that Colombia is a 
country of great natural riches, suffered to lie for the most part waste. 
Were its inhabitants of an active and industrious disposition, and its 
resources developed even in a moderate degree, it would be one of th 
richest and most important countries in the world. Previously to the 
arrival of Columbus the horse and ox were unknown in the New World, 
but the llanos are now covered with herds of both. In the early part 
of the present century it was estimated that there were from the 
mouths of the Orinoco to the lake Maracaybo, one million two hundrei 
thousand oxen, one hundred and eighty thousand horses, and ninet; 
thousand mules — an estimate which Humboldt thought too low. Shee 
and goats are plentiful in the table-lauds of Bogota ; animal food i 
cheap and much consumed ; and hides, wool, and cheese form a prin- 
cipal portion of rural produce. Agriculture generally is in a very low 
state, and the government have been lately desirous to promote its 
improvement by encouraging foreign settlers, and disposing of the 
waste lands to them at a low rate, and exempting them for a period 
from taxes. Few people possess estates of five thousand pounds a year 
— five thousand dollars are reckoned a good income. Near Pamplona 
the grounds are surrounded with stone-wall hedges, which give an air 
of proprietorship not often seen ; and in the valley of Serinze (New 
Granada) a similar plan is adopted, and cultivation is in a tolerably 
advanced stage. Commonly, however, the natural indolence of the 
natives precludes this. 

Venezuela occupies the greater part of the northern shores of South 
America and the adjacent countries. Near the parallel of 9 deg. north 
latitude, it extends from east to west, from Punta Barima, 60 deg. 
west longitude, to the mountains of Ocana, 73 deg. 30 min. west longi- 
tude, and nine hundred miles in length. The greatest width is in the 



% 



THE GOLDEN MIERICAS. 323 

meridian of Cape Codera, 66 deg. 15 min. west longitude, where it 
extends from the line of Brazil 1 deg. to 10 deg. 40 min, north latitude, 
or more than six hundred and sixty miles from south to north. But 
its most northern point, Punta Galliona, is 12 deg. 25 min. north 
latitude. 

On the east it borders on British Guiana, and on that part of the 
Brazilian province of Rio Negro which comprehends the basin of the 
Rio Branco. The boundary-line between Venezuela and the British 
possessions has never been determined, and that which separates the 
Republic from Brazil runs through countries which are almost un- 
known. The line of separation is north of 1 deg. north latitude, on 
the banks of the Guainia, or Rio Negro, between S. Carlos del Rio 
Negro and S. Jose de Marabitanos. New Granada is Avest of Yene- 
zuela. On the south, the boundary begins at a point about fifty miles 
west of S. Carlos, and thence runs due north, cutting the Rio Negro 
above Maroa, and proceeding to the Orinoco, where that river turns 
northward at the mouth of the Rio Atabapo. 

The boundary of Venezuela includes the most northern portion of 
the Eastern Andes of New Granada — namely, the paramos of Porquera 
and others. Though the most elevated part of this region rises above 
the line of vegetation, the valley, slopes, and table-lands which extend 
on both sides are very fertile, producing, according to their elevation, 
the grains and fruits of Europe or those of tropical countries. The 
physical character of that part of Venezuela west of the Lake of Mara- 
caybo is not known, as it is in possession of two independent tribes. 
It is partly covered with trees, and partly extends in woodless plains. 
That portion of the range west of the Gulf of Trieste has an arid soil, 
and suffers frequently from want of moisture. Coffee is successfully 
cultivated in some parts. The remainder of this mountain-region, 
which, with the exception of the coast, receives abundant rains, is also 
distinguished by the great fertility of its valleys. About one-half of 
the plains of the Orinoco lie within Venezuela. The river Manapiere 
may be considered as separating the Llanos de Barcelona from those of 
Caracas and Varinas, which are also called cattle plains, on account of 
the numerous herds of cattle which they feed. The country sur- 
rounded by Rio Orinoco is nearly covered with the ridges of the 
Prime Mountains, of which about one-half are included in Venezuela. 
The mountains are generally covered with trees. Level plains extend 
south of the upper coiarse of the Orinoco, which are covered with trees, 



324 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

and very fertile, but nearly nninliabited, owing to the superabundance 
of rain and the unhealtbiness of the climate. 

O^Ying to the different degrees of heat and moisture which prevail 
in the different regions of Venezuela, there is a great variety of pro- 
dacts. The cerealia and fruits of Europe succeed only in a compara- 
tively small extent of country. In some parts only tropical grains and 
roots, with maize and rice, are cultivated. The objects of agriculture 
which are cultivated with a view to exjDortation are cacao, coffee, 
tobacco, indigo, and cotton ; the sugar-cane is also cultivated, but the 
produce is consumed in the country. The forests produce several 
kinds of wood suitable for dyeing and cabinet-work ; vanilla and 
sarsaparilla are collected in quantities sufficient to form articles of 
export. The most important articles of export are derived from the 
Llanos de Caracas and Yarinas, consisting of mules, ox hides, and 
jerked beef. Pearls were formerly fished along the northern coast on 
both sides of the island of Cubagua, but at present the fishery is not so 
productive. The mineral wealth of Venezuela is not great ; silver 
mines were formerly worked ; gold is found in the small river Aroa, 
which falls into the sea south of the mouth of the Rio Tocayo, and in 
the neighbourhood a rich mine of copper is worked. There are un- 
equivocal indications of iron, alum, sulphur, and some other minerals ; 
salt in considerable quantity is collected in the lagoons of the peninsula 
of Araya and in the vicinity of Cora. 

The population is somewhat vaguely estimated at nine hundred 
thousand, consisting of whites, negroes, and a numerous mixed class. 

Unless the rudest arts of civilised life are considered as belonging 
to manufacturing industry, this branch of business can hardly be said 
to exist in Venezuela. 

The eastern coasts of Venezuela were discovered by Columbus, in 
his third voyage, in 1498, and the western by Alonzo de Ojeda, in 
1500. The Spaniards had some trade with the native tribes, and a few 
missionaries attempted unsuccessfully to convert them. The progress 
of the country towards civilisation was slow in the seventeenth century, 
but in the eighteenth was more rapid, owing chiefly to the smuggling 
trade carried on between the Dutch and English colonies in the 
Columbian Archipelago. The advantage derived from this trade made 
the Creole inhabitants of the country aware of the still greater profits 
which might accrue from a free trade, and which they could only 
obtain by a separation from Spain. A revolution took place in 1810, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 325 

and on the 5tli of July the independence of Caracas, as the country 
was then called, was proclaimed. This was soon followed by a war, 
and lasted to 1823, when the Spaniards gave up their best possession, 
Puerto Cabello. 

New Granada occupies the north-western part of South America. 
On the east it borders on the Republic of Venezuela, on the north the 
Caribbean Sea. On the west of it is Central America. Further south 
it is washed by the Pacific. Within these boundaries are included the 
whole of the ranges of the Western and Central Andes, together with 
the mountain region which unites their northern extremities, and 
occupies the country between 5 deg. and 8 deg. north latitude, east of 
the course of the Rio Magdelena. These regions differ greatly in their 
productive powers and in healthiness. The first region is said to have 
a good soil and generally healthy climate. The greatest part is covered 
with trees, but also contains considerable savannahs, with good pasture 
ground. The second region contains the paramos of the Andes, 
which are extensive table-lands on the summits of the range, nearly 
without vegetation, but they occupy a small portion, the remainder 
being in general very fertile. The north-western districts have tropical 
products. In the vales of the third region tropical plants are cultivated. 
The fourth region has an arid and rocky soil, and a very small portion 
of it is cultivated, but it is rich in gold and silver ; it is very thinly 
settled. The fifth region is distinguished by fertility, as the greater 
part of its surface is an alluvium ; but, being very unhealthy owing to 
the superabundance of moisture and the quantity of stagnant water, it 
is very thinly settled, except along the banks of the Rio Magdelena. 
The seventh region is a continuous forest, unhealthy in the highest 
degree from the incessant rains and the great heat. Numerous small 
and deep Alpine lakes occur in the slopes of the mountain ridges and 
on the pdramos, but large lakes are not numerous in the interior. 

There is a great difference of climate between the paramos, the 
elevated table-land of Bogota, the vales of the Magdelena and Cauca, 
and the low districts along the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific, and this 
difference produces a corresponding variety in productions. 

The European cerealia, with potatoes, and the aracacha root are the 
principal objects of agriculture on the table-land of Bogota, and in the 
districts north of it along the western declivity of the Eastern Andes. 
In the vales of the great rivers, and on the low plains along the coa::,t, 
maize, plaintains, and several roots are cultivated for food. Cotton, 



326 THE GOLDEN AJVIERICAS. 

cacao, tobacco, and sugar are cultivated as articles of commerce, but 
the last-mentioned article is not considerable. The woods contain many 
kinds of useful trees, and a few of them furnish articles of export, as the 
brasiletto and fustic from the forests which inclose the Sierra de Santa 
Marta. Considerable quantities of cinchona and ipecacuanha are 
collected, the latter on the banks of the Rio Magdelena, the former on 
the Sierra de Santa Marta, and the Andes of Merida, Santa Fe, and 
Popayan. The balsam of Tolii is collected on the banks of the Eio 
Sinu. On the plains large herds of cattle feed, and supply jerked 
beef and hides as articles of commerce. Pearls are procured in small 
quantities in the Bay of Panama. Gold is found in the Central and 
Western Andes. The population is small and of mixed tribes. 

Ecuador, deriving its name from its position under the equator, has 
an area the actual extent of which has never been definitely marked, 
but it is probably not far from 250,000 square miles. It is decidedly a 
mountaiuous country. The Andes extend over the greatest part of its 
territory, spreading out in elevated plateaux, and rising in lofty peaks 
from these elevated plains. The people have given the name of kudo, 
knot or group, and also of paramo, cold, bleak desert, to these plateaux, 
many of which, though maintaining the same elevation, are anything 
but level. Twenty-tvfo of the mountains of Ecuador rise above the 
line of perpetual snow, and others rise to the height of ten thousand 
feet. Of these the majority are volcanoes, some constantly active, 
others occasionally so, some throwing out lava and scoriae, others 
pouring down on the valleys below rivers of hot and sulphurous waters 
and huge masses of semi-liquid mud. In the eastern range the 
highest mountain, Cayambi, has an altitude of 19,813 feet ; Chimborazo 
is the highest mountain in the western range, having an elevation of 
21,371 feet. 

The precious metals are mostly found in the department of Quito 
and Assuay, though some gold is washed from the sands of the rivers in 
Guayaquil, The province of Oriente is said to be particularly rich in 
gold and silver, but it is mainly populated by Indians, who most care- 
fully conceal from all strangers the localities where these treasures are 
to be found. Indeed, with regard to the golden wealth of Ecuador, it 
has not been profitably worked for many years past ; this in a great 
measure is easily accounted for by the troubled condition of the : 
Pepublic, but that its auriferous ores are of extreme value there is no 
reason to doubt. At the time of the discovery of the country it was 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 327 

remarkable for its yield of precious stones, particularly for its rubies 
and emeralds of large size, but the Spaniards readily appropriated all 
that were to be got, and were never scrupulous as to the means they 
took to satisfy their cupidity. 

In the mountain slopes of Ecuador medical science finds many of 
its choicest remedies. There grows in abundance the cinchona-tree, 
which yields the Peruvian bark and the quinine of commerce ; sarsa- 
parilla, ipecacuanha, balsam of Tolii, vanilla, canella, copaiba, gentian, 
valerian, cassia fistula, the croton tigiium, from which is obtained the 
cro?on oil of commerce ; solanum dulcama, ratania, the root of which 
is the rantany of the druggists ; the liquid amber, the bitter cucumber, 
the poppy, and the guaco, warranted to heal the bite of the rattlesnake. 
All these long names, significant of all things disagreeable in the way 
of physic, are scarcely so pleasant as a fine yield of gold and silver-^ 
the medicine lands not, as a general rule, being so acceptable as a game 
of play on Tom Tidler's ground ; but still these things are not to be 
despised, and when prostrated by sickness, trembling at the approach 
of the black camel, we willingly enough exchange our gold for physic. 
Ecuador would therefore be a very useful land, if only for the supplies 
which it furnishes to the druggist. 

The rivers of Ecuador are of two classes : those which discharge 
their waters into the Pacific, and have a short and precipitous course ; 
and those which, rising in the Andes, descend their eastern slope and 
unite with the Amazon or some of its branches, forming a part of the 
great fluvial system of the Amazonian basin. Many of these are 
navigable for a considerable distance. The principal rivers discharging 
into the Pacific are the Mira, the Onzora, the Ostiones, the Esmeraldas, 
once famous for its emeralds, and the most considerable. It rises in 
the vicinty of Cotopaxi, near the sources of the Napo and the Pastaza, 
and after a long and circuitous course, discharges its waters into the 
Pacific. 

Although lying directly under the equator, many portions of 
Ecuador enjoy a mild and delightful temperature, a perpetual spring 
or autumn. The sea-coast is low, hot, and sickly, but as we proceed 
towards the interior we find the valleys lying between the ranges of 
mountains possessing a warm but not hot climate, and producing 
abundantly all the tropical and many of the temperate fruits. In the 
vaUey of Quito the temperature is the most equable on the whole 
surface of the globe. There are but two seasons in the Ecuadorian 



328 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

climate : the winter, or the rainy season, commences in December and 
ends in May, the other, called summer or the windy season, begins in 
May or June, and ends in November. The former is a season, not of 
perpetual rain, but of frequent and fertilising showers ; during the 
summer rain seldom falls. 

A few words may now be devoted to British Guiana. 

The whole surface of the coast lands of British Guiana is on a level 
with the high water of the sea. When these lands are drained, banked, 
and cultivated, they consolidate and become fully a foot below it. It 
requires, therefore, unremitting attention to the dams and sluices to 
keep out the sea, one inundation of which destroys a sugar estate for 
eighteen months, and a coffee one for six years. The original cost of 
damming and cultivating is fully paid by the first crop, and the duration 
of the crops is from thirty to fifty years ; so that, though great capital 
is required for the first outlay, the comparative expense of cultivation 
is a mere trifle compared with that of the West India islands, not- 
withstanding that the expense of works, buildings, and machinery may 
be treble or quadruple, being built on an adequate scale for half-a- 
century of certain production. 

Between the first and second chains of hills are some extensive 
savannahs, which approach the sea-shore east of the River Berbice. 
South of the Pacaraima chain and the Rupunoony are others still 
more extensive, but not so well watered. In the latter region are 
situated the small lake of Amucu and the frontier settlement of Pirara, 
W^itli the exception of these savannahs, and the swamps on the Berbice, 
the interior is mostly covered with hill ranges and dense forests. 

The greatest slope of the country is towards the north, in which 
direction run the principal rivers. The chief of these is the Essequibo, 
which rises in the Sierra Acarai, about forty miles north of the equator, 
and discharges itself into the ocean by an estuary nearly twenty miles 
wide, after a course of at least six hundred and twenty miles. Its 
entrance is much impeded by shoals, and it is navigable for sailing 
vessels for only about fifty miles from its mouth. According to the 
volume of water, its current is more or less strong, but it is seldom 
more than four knots an hour, even during the rainy season. The 
Corentyn rises about latitude 1 deg. 30 min,, and longitude 57 deg., 
and discharges itself also by an estuary twenty miles wide. Between 
these two rivers run the Berbice and the Demerara ; the former may 
be ascended for one hundred and sixty-five miles by vessels drawing 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



B29 



seven feet water ; the latter is navigable for eighty-five miies above 
Georgetown, which is situated near its mouth. The Mazaruni, Cuyuni, 
and others, afliuents of Essequibo, are the other principal streams. 




SOUTH AMERICAN BELLE. 



All the large rivers bring down great quantities of detritus, which, 
being deposited around their mouths and estuaries, renders the whole 
coast shoal. For twelve or fifteen miles seaward the mud bottom is 
covered by only three or four feet water. 



330 THE GOLDEI^ AMERICAS. 

The forests abound witli trees of immense size, including the mora 
■excelsoy sipari, or green-Jieart, and many others, yielding the most 
valuable timber, and an abundance of medicinal plants, dye-woods, 
and others of excellent quality for cabinet-making. Arnotto, so exten- 
sively used in the colouring of cheese, grows wild in profusion on the 
banks of the Upper Corentyn. That magnificent specimen of the 
American flora, the Victoria Eegia, was discovered by Mr. Schomburgk 
on the banks of the Berbice. Another indigenous plant deserving of 
mention is the liai-arry^ a papilionaceous vine, the root of which con- 
tains a powerful narcotic, and is commonly used by the Indians in 
poisoning waters to take the fish. The Indians beat the root with 
heavy sticks till it is in shreds, like coarse hemp ; they then infuse it, 
a,nd throw the infusion over the area of the river or pool selected. In. 
about twenty minutes every fish within its influence rises to the surface, 
and is either taken by the hand or shot with arrows. A solid cubic 
foot of the root will poison an acre of water, and the fish are not 
thereby deteriorated. 

The staples of the colony are at present sugar, coffee, and cotton ; 
the two latter were formerly ahnost exclusively grown, but their culture 
is now in a great measure superseded by that of the sugar-cane. 

The coast regions are the only parts cultivated for sugar ; but many 
tracts in the interior seem to be equally well fitted for that purpose ; 
coffee, also, is grown only on the coast ; but, according to Mr. Schom- 
burgk, no tract appears better suited for it than the central ridge of 
the mountains. The Indians have generally some indigenous cotton 
grov/intr round their huts, and among the Macusis (or the Rupununi) 
it is raised to a considerable extent. It comes to perfection in most 
parts of the colony, but is cultivated by the colonists only on the 
coast, and even there it has of late been nearly abandoned, the planters 
being undersold by those of the United States. 

There are numerous other products which as yet neither form 
articles of export nor of internal consumption, for which both the soil 
and climate are suitable, and which nuglit be raised with advantage 
were it not for the want of labour. Among these are rice, maize, 
Indian millet, Victoria wheat, cocoa, vanilla (a native of Guiana), 
tobacco, and cinnamon. Between the Berbice and the Essequibo there 
is a tract of many thousand acres, possessing the means of constant 
irrigation, on a small portion of which three crops a year have been 
repeatedly raised ; but at present it is nearly aU a complete wilderness, 



t 



THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 331 

and will so continue till labour becomes more abundant and cheaper. 
The coast region, which is covered by a deep layer of vegetable mould, 
forming what is called a jjegass soil, is so extremely fertile that six 
thousand and even eight thousand pounds of sugar, and from twenty 
to thirty thousand pounds of plantains, are sometimes produced on an 
acre ; but in order to cultivate this soil, dams and embankments, as 
before stated, are necessary, and agriculture is conducted at a great 
outlay, and on large estates. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Brazil again— Eio de Janeiro — Coffee Grounds— How Coffee is Grown ia South. 
America — Something about the Silver River — Something about Patagonia. 

1" ET us return to Rio. We have said already something about the 
coffee plantations. Let us describe one of them with more detail. 
A cup of coffee is sometimes more delicious than a bit of gold. 

We suppose ourselves already landed at the city of llio de Janeiro. 
Being too late to start to-day, we take rooms at the Exchange Hotel, 
kept by a most respectable Englishman. We can, however, glance at 
some features of the coffee trade as it appears in Eio. Our hotel fronts 
to the southward on Rua Direita, the principal business thoroughfare 
of the city. As we descend to the street we find ourselves amid the 
bustle of the business centre of this great metropolis of South America. 
Turning our faces eastward, a few steps bring us to the Praca do Com- 
mercio (the Merchants' Exchange), and adjoining this the Alfandega, 
or Custom House. At both these establishments all business is trans- 
acted between nine in the morning and three in the afternoon. N"o 
vessel is allowed to discharge or take in cargo before or after. At the 
Custom House three or four cargoes of coffee are cleared almost every 
day, having paid a moderate export duty to the government. Negro- 
drays (each a cart with five stalv/art Africans pulling, pushing, and 
shouting at the top of their voices), mule- carts, omnibuses, and hacks 
are all mixed up in apparently inextricable confusion. But above all 
the confasion of Rua Direita a stentorian chorus of voices is heard 
"responding in quick measure to the burden of a song." 

Casting our eyes in the direction whence comes this measured suc- 
cession of musical grunts, we see above the heads of the multitude " a 
line of white sacks rushing around the corner of Rua de Alfandega " 



332 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

(Custom House-street). Elbowing our way through the crowd, Ave 
discover that each of these sacks is borne on the head of " a living 
ebony Hercules." This is a train of Brazilian coif ee- carriers. They 
go in companies of a dozen or twenty each, of whom one selected as 
captain takes the lead. Their only dress is a short pair of pants, 
reaching from the waist to the middle of the thigh, the limbs and body 
being left to the fullest and freest play of the muscles. Each has upon 
his head a bag of coffee weighing five ai-rahas, or one hundred and 
sixty pounds ; and they move on at a measured and rapid trot, keeping- 
step with the double-quick time of some wild Ethiopian ditty. In 
perfect accord with this we have heard a strange, rattling music, 
which we now perceive proceeds from an instrument resembling exactly 
the mouthpiece of an ordinary watering-pot. This is partly filled with 
gravel, corked up, carried in one hand, and rattled in the time of the 
ditty, in a style resembling that in which a negro barber plays his wisk. 

The strength of spinal column and the amount of neck muscle that 
these coffee-carriers develop are truly astonishing. We saw one of 
them carry on his head a full-sized crate of crockery; and another 
carry from Rua Direita to the summit of Corcorado (a distance of three 
miles, and a height of 2,800 feet), over a rugged mule-path, a box 
containing a ham, a turkey, a leg of mutton, a roast of beef, ten loaves 
of bread, two dozen of claret, two dozen of ale, two dozen dinner-plates, 
three large meat-dishes, and forks, napkins, and other things required 
for breakfasting and dining a party that made the ascent by moonlight, 
one fine morning, in order to see the god of day come up from his 
morning bath in the old Atlantic. 

From the time the coffee reaches Rio imtil it is stowed away in the 
hold of the vessel, it is all handled and carried by these coffee- carriers, 
and all in sacks of a hundred and sixty pounds each. 

After dinner, and a turn up Rua de Ouridor, which is at once the 
Rue Vivienne, Regent-street, Broadway, Chestnut-street, and Mont- 
gomery-street of Rio de Janeiro, though neither very broad nor long, 
we give orders to be called at five, and retire. We are aroused at the 
appointed hour, and after our almoco we walk through the city, passing 
on our way the City Hall, the Mint, the Assembly Building, the Peni- 
tentiary, and other prominent public buildings, reaching the depot of 
the famous Dom Pedro Segundo Railway, at the south-west corner of 
the city, just as the numerous church and convent bells are ushering in 
the new-born d&y. 



THE GOLDEN AI^IERICAS. 383 

The first forty miles of the road is in a north-westerly direction, 
over a level plain, mostly covered with marsh, and a coarse, file-toothed 
grass, the road having little of interest along it after we leave the 




SINGULAR ROCK FORMATION IN BEAZIL. 



Palace San Christowaa, which is the emperor's principal residence. 
This is but three miles out of the city, bordering the railway on the 
north. The emperor has a summer palace at Petropolis, thirty-six miles 
distant, a little above the head of the most magnificent bay in the world. 



334 THE GOLDEX AMERICAS. 

We hurry along, with few stoppages, until we reach the foot-hilk 
of the Terra do Mar, or coast range. Thence, in the next forty miles^ 
we make an ascent of four thousand feet, without a single switch-back, 
the grade being in places three hundred feet to the mile, while some of 
the curves on the heaviest part of the grade are made to a radius of 
two hundred and eighty feet. Slowly but steadily we are dragged up, 
up, up, our "camel-back" engine seeming at times short of breath, 
and ready to give in. Within these forty miles we are plunged into, 
and thundered through, seventeen tunnels, one of which is a mile and 
a half in length, and cost a quarter of a million sterling. Between 
these we skirt along, and sometimes over, immense precipices, where 
we look down into the dizzy depths of the dark and dense Brazilian 
forest of the ravines and valleys below. As our iron horse stops for 
food and drink we hear the monkeys -and the parrots chattering to 
each other in an unknown tongue, and the keel-bill and bell bird 
put in their ringing reply. The old trees are festooned with mosses 
and decked with the many-hued flowers of the orchideie (air plants), 
while the sons of these fathers of the forest are stayed on all sides with 
the rope-like ipecacuanha, popularly known as cipo in Brazil. Away 
across the ravine on an opposite slope a sunlit cascade pours its silvery 
flood into the insatiable depths beneath. We reach the summit at last, 
where we find an extemporised village of the railroad's creating. 

We now start down the western face of the serras, with brakes 
down and engine reversed, but for all that going at a frightful degree 
of speed. Down, down, down we rush, head foremost, to the banks of 
the Parahiba, a river which forms the boundary line between the 
provinces of Rio de Janeiro and IVIinas Geraes. This mighty railroad 
was constructed expressly to develop the resources of the interior 
coffee regions of Brazil, and to bring the fruits of those broad acres to 
market. Where this road intersects the Parabiba is a great porto de 
emlarque, or shipping depot of this cammhos deferro, or railroad. 

The mountain air has been bracing, and we are a little tired and 
much more hungry ; so the moment our box is opened Vv e follow the 
lead of other ravenous ones to the taverna. Even here they have the 
fashionable hours of eating, and though well in the afternoon we are 
much too early for dinner, so we must order a segiinda almoco (a second 
breakfast). We are set down to a grilled reach, some jerked beef, 
black beans, farina, fried potatoes, and the inevitable but ever-welcome 
cup of coffee. This beverage is almost a syrup, and yet as clear as 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 335 

brandy, Brazilians know how to make coffee, as well as to produce it. 
But we have not yet becume accustomed to the strong aid almost 
bitter taste of this condensed extract of the berry whose mysteries we 
have come to explore, so we take our coffee au lait. 

Outside the taverna we confront a thousand or more mules, which 
we are informed have come in laden with coffviC from the neighbouring: 
province. We make our way to the Esta9ao, where we find piled m 
every direction thousands of sacks of coffee. 

We take a mule each, and cross the Parahiba to see where all this 
comes from. Immediately upon reaching the western shore of the 
river we are plunged into immense forests of coffee. The trees 
resemble somewhat the Rlamuus catharticus, or familiar buckthorn, the 
colour, size, and character of the berries being different, and the 
coffee plant having far less spines. The trees are planted about six or 
eight feet apart each way, and grow naturally from twelve to thirty 
feet high, although, for the sake of convenience in gathering the fruit, 
they are seldom allowed to attain a height of more than ten or twelve 
feet. This region of country is very hilly, and the soil is light, dry, 
and silicious, the prevalent opinion being that coffee will not thrive in 
moist ground. If, however, you shall have time, on our return to Rio, 
to visit Bennett's, in the valley of the Tijuca, just go up to the bath in 
a spur of the valley, and you will find growing close by the waterside 
a cqfier many times larger and more prolific than any we shall see in 
Minas Geraes, 

The shrubs are transplanted with care from the nursery at one year 
of age, and in two or three years thereafter become fruitful, and will 
continue to produce two crops per annum from ten to twenty years. 
An occasional tree bears well for twenty-five or thirty years, and 
instead of two there are often three gatherings from the same trees 
during the year. The tree is an evergreen, while the blossoms are a 
most delicate white, emitting an exquisite fragrance. We find on the 
same tree, and indeed on the same twig, the blossom, the newly-formed 
berry, the green and the matured fruit. When ripe the berry very 
closely resembles the cranberry in external appearance, though some- 
what larger. Each berry contains two seeds or grains of coffee in the 
centre of the pulp, with their flat sides or faces opposed to each other. 
Each grain is covered with a tough integument or membrane, and they 
are additionally separated from each other by a layer of the pulp 
interposing. 



336 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

EacTi tree produces from one to eight pounds of berries, the average 
being about three pounds. It is now the gathering season, and we see 
hundreds of negroes in every direction ; some shaking the berries upon 
gathering-sheets spread upon the ground, others picking the fruit 
direct from the trees. A negro will pick about an aroba (thirty -two 
pounds) of berries per day. These are dried by being spread upon 
pavements or level tables of ground prepared for the purpose, which 
pavement or table is called a terrene. These should be sheltered from 
the sun. As the fruit dries the pulp forms a sort of shell or pod, 
as we perceive in examining some that have been longer gathered, and 
which being perfectly dry are now being passed through a coffee 
huUer, a machine in which a fluted roller is closely opposed to a breast- 
board, between which roller and breast-board the berries are made to 
pass. The pulp is washed away, leaving the beans free. These are 
again dried as before, after which the tough membrane is removed by a 
somewhat similar process with heavy rollers. The chaff is next 
separated by winnowing ; and the coffee is now ready to be bagged 
and stored, or taken to market. 

Coffee, like some other articles of commerce, is greatly improved by 
age ; and for this reason we find immense quantities of it stored for a 
time, although the difference in market value between the old and the 
new does not pay the interest on the money. Mocha coffee, it is said, 
wiU attain its best savour in three years, while Rio, St. Domingo, 
Laquayra, Maricaybo, Costa Rica, and all other American coffees 
require from twelve to fifteen years to perfect their flavour. 

We may now take another look at the Silver River — Rio de la 
Plata. Rio de la Plata is a large river of South America, draining with 
its numerous affluents the greater part of the states of La Plata, Banda 
Oriental, and Paraguay, with smaller portions of Bolivia and Brazil. 
It is formed by the union of two important branches, the Parana and 
Uruguay, and, gradually increasing in width, becomes a very large 
estuary, entering the South Atlantic Ocean between Punta Negra, on 
the north-east, and Cape St. Antonia, on the south-west, having on its 
north bank the city and port of Monte Video and the colony of San 
Sacramento, while on the opposite side, 124 miles from its mouth, is 
Buenos Ayres. The basin of this great river is estimated to occupy 
about 1,250,000 square miles, being inferior in extent only to those of 
Ihe Amazon and Mississippi. Its length, from the source of the 
Paraguay to its mouth, is about 2,450 miles. 



338 THE GOLDEN AjVIEPJCAS. 



I 



The longest and most direct river, and that of the largest volume, 
belonging to this great water system, is the Paraguay, which on 
receiving the waters of the Parana, at Corrientes, assumes the name of 
that branch. It has its sources in the low ranges connecting the great 
mountains of Peru and Brazil, which constitute the watershed between 
the affluents of the Amazon and those of the Rio de la Plata. Many- 
navigable streams join it from the east as it passes through Brazil, but 
those on the west side, though not so numerous, are much more exten- 
sive. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth degrees of south 
latitude occurs that wide region of swamps called the Lake of Xarayes/ 
which during the periodical inundations of the river is flooded so 
extensively as to form a great inland sea, stretching from east to west 
between 200 and 300 miles, and from north to south upwards of lOO 
miles, with a depth of ten or twelve feet. At the close of the rainy 
season these waters are carried off by the Paraguay, which is navigable 
from this point to its mouth, for vessels of forty or fifty tons, a direct 
distance of 1,200 miles. The other western affluents are the Pilcomayo 
and Vermejo, Vr hich fall into it between Assumption and Corrientegj 
both having their sources in Bolivia, and flowing south-east through 
the great cliaco or desert. The Pilcomayo, after a course of 1,000 miles, 
enters the main stream by two branches, about sixty miles apart. It is 
shallow, and not navigable even by canoes. The Vermejo, which falls 
into the main river about 135 miles below that last mentioned, rises on 
the east slope of the Andes, and is navigable for large hodM through 
the whole of the level country for nearly 700 miles. 

The Parana — which, as we haVe before observed, joins the Paraguay 
at Corrientes, and gives its own name to its lower pai't-^rises in the 
table-land of Brazil, hardly 120 miles from the shores of the Atlantic* 
It flows south, and then curves westward, separating Brazil froni 
Paraguay, and, lower down, divides the latter country from the states 
of La Plata. It has numerous afflueuts, but though the main stream 
be upwards of 1,000 miles in length, it is not navigable for more than 
100 miles, owing to the sattos, or falls, the lowest of which, close to the 
island of Api]3e, is in latitude 27 deg. 26 min. south, and 56 deg. 47 min. 
longitude west. From this point the river at once becomes navigable 
for vessels of 300 tons. The most important fall, however, is con- 
siderably higher up the stream, in latitude 23 deg. 30 min. south, being 
upwards of fifty feet in height. From Corrientes the united river now 
flows on, much broken by islands, overrun with trees, and subject to 



i 



II 



THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 339 

inundation. The only considerable tributary of tlie Parana below 
Corrientes is the Salado, which rises in the east Cordillera of the Andes, 
and after a devious course through the mountains, runs south-eastward 
through the Pampas to its junction with the main river, near Santa Fe, 
in latitude 31 deg. 40 min. south. Here the Parana divides into 
numerous branches, formed by pretty large islands, becoming more 
frequent lower down the stream, which at length opens into the estuary 
of La Plata by a long but narrow delta, having two principal branches. 
TTie depth at the mouth is seldom less than two fathoms, and there is 
an uninterrupted navigation throughout the year for vessels of 300 
tons from Assumption, upwards of 800 miles from the mouth. It has 
been estimated, says Mr. Darwin, that the river at its source has only a 
fall of one foot per mile, and much less lower down in its course. 
Indeed, a rise of seven feet at Buenos Ayres may be perceived 180 miles 
from the mouth of the Parana. But notwithstanding these advantages, 
we met during our descent very few vessels. One of the best gifts of 
Nature seems here wilfully thrown away, so grand a channel of com- 
munication being left nearly unoccupied — a river in which ships might 
navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly abundant in some 
productions as destitute of others, to another possessing a tropical 
climate, and a soil perhaps unequalled in fertility in any part of the 
world. How different would have been the aspect of this country if 
English instead of Spanish colonists had, by good fortune, first sailed 
up this splendid river ! 

The inundations of the Paraguay and Parana bear a close analogy 
to those of the Nile. Both rivers rise in the torrid zone, nearly at the 
same distance from the equator, and both, though holding their courses 
towards opposite poles, disembogue by deltas in about the same latitude. 
Both are na^dgable for very long distances, and both have their 
periodical risings, bursting over their natural bounds, and inundating^ 
immense tracts of country. The Parana begins to rise about the end 
of December, soon after the commencement of the rainy season in the 
south tropic, and increases gradually till April, when it begins to fall 
somewhat more rapidly till the beginning of July. A second rising, 
called repunte, is occasioned by the winter rains south of the tropic of 
Capricorn ; but it seldom overflows the banks. 

The ordinary average of the increase below Corrientes is twelve feet ; 
but at Assumption, where the river is more confined, the rise is said to 
be sometimes as much as five or six fathoms. Occasionally, however. 



340 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

these floods are much- higlier, penetrating into the jungles of the 
interior, and drowning numbers of wild animals, the carcasses of which 
poison the air for months afterwards. The river at these times is 
exceedingly turbid, from the great quantity of vegetable substances 
and mud brought down by it. The velocity of the stream in the higher 
and narrower parts at first prevents their deposition, but as it ap- 
proaches the lower lands, or pampas, they are spread over the face of 
the country, forming a grey slimy soil, which increases vegetation in a 
surprising degree. The extent of ground thus covered during the] 
inundations is estimated at 30,000 square miles. 

The Uruguay — the other great branch of the estuary of La Plata — -1 
takes its name from the numerous falls and rapids which mark its 
course. It is upwards of 803 miles in length, rising in latitude 27 deg. 
30 min., on the Sierra de South Catherina, in the province of that 
name, only about seventy-five miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. Its 
course is at first nearly due west, but is afterwards turned southward 
by a mountain-range, separating it from the Parana. It receives 
several important afiluents, of which the Negro, the principal river of 
Banda Oriental, is the chief. It joins the estuary of La Plata about 
fifty miles below the junction of the latter, and its clear blue waters 
may be distinguished from the muddy stream of the Parana for miles 
after their junction. The country through which the Uruguay flows is 
of a very uneven and rocky character, in consequence of which the 
navigation is broken by many reefs and falls, only passable during the 
periodical floods. Of these the lowest are the Saltos Grande and Chico, 
in latitude 31 deg. 30 min., about 190 miles above its mouth. 

The estuary of the Rio de la Plata, the recipient of these great 
rivers, is about one hundred and eighty-five miles in length ; its 
breadth at the mouth being about one hundred and thirty miles, 
though it gradually becomes narrower, till, opposite Buenos Ayres, it 
has a width of only twenty-nine miles. The coast on the north side is 
in general high and rocky ; whereas on the opposite side the shores 
are low, extending inwards in immense pampas. The depth of the 
river increases towards the mouth, where it averages ten fathoms ; but 
at Monte Video it scarcely exceeds three fathoms, and gradually lessens, 
so that vessels drawing more than sixteen feet of water cannot ascend 
above Buenos Ayres. East of Monte Video is an immense bank of 
sand and shells, called the English Bank ; besides which there are 
many other sandbanks, covered when the river is low with only about 

I 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 341 

eight feet of water, one of whicli, called the Ortiz, is in some parts 
between eleven and twelve miles in width. The currents are extremely 
irregular both in rate and direction, a consequence of the immense 
volume of water brought down at certain seasons by the Parana, as 
well as of the influence of the winds at the mouth of the river ; indeed, 
this variability of the winds and currents constitutes one of the chief 
difficulties in navigating the Plata, which, on this account, has been 
termed II Injierno de los Marineros. 

In calm weather the currents are generally very slack, and almost 
as regular as tides, setting up and down the river alternately. The 
effect produced by the pamperos, or south-west gales, so-called from 
their blowing over the pampas south of Buenos Ayres, is remarkable 
from the singular fluctuations in the depth of the water before and 
after their occurrence, the river being always higher than usual when 
they begin, whereas, after they have continued for a few hours, the 
water is forced out to sea, so that the sandbanks begin to appear, and 
on some occasions even the anchoring grounds have been laid bare ! 
The tides are so much disturbed, and, as it were, hidden by the currents, 
that it has been affirmed they have no existence ; but, according to the 
American Coast Pilot, they are clearly discernible in calm weather, though 
their rise seldom exceeds six feet. 

We may now offer a few words about Patagonia, an extensive 
country of South America. Little, however, is really known respecting 
this region beyond its vast outline. " The Andes in Patagonia appear 
to consist of but one Cordillera, the mean height of which may be 
estimated at 5,000 feet, but opposite Chilloe there are some mountains 
probably from 5,000 to 6,000 feet in height. The west coast is abrupt, 
very much broken, and skirted with a great number of irregularly-shaped 
rocky islands. The east coast has been most explored. The surface of 
the country appears to rise from the Atlantic to the Andes ; it is a 
succession of terraces, all of which are alike arid and sterile, the upper 
soil consisting chiefly of marine gravelly deposits covered with coarse, 
wiry grass. No wood is seen larger than a small thorny shrub, fit only 
for purposes of fuel, except on the banks of a few of the rivers subject 
to inundation, where herbage and some trees are occasionally found. 
This sterility prevails throughout the whole plain country of Pata- 
gonia, the complete similarity of which in almost every part is one of 
its most striking characteristics." 

Patagonia was discovered by Magellan in 1519. The following 



3i2 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

particulars respecting the discovery will be read with interest : — 
Passing the equinoctial line, and losing sight of the polar star, 
Magellan steered south-south-west, and in the middle of December 
struck the coast of Brazil. His men made excellent bargains with the 
natives. For a small comb they obtained two geese ; for a piece of 
glass, as much fish as would feed ten men ; for a ribbon, a basket of 
potatoes — a root then so little known that Pigafetta describes it as 
resembling a turnip in appearance, and a roasted chestnut in taste. A 
pack of playing-cards was a fortune, for a sailor bought six fat chickens 
with the King of Spades. The fleet remained thirteen days at anchor, 
and then pursued its way to the southward along the territory of the 
cannibals who had lately devoured De Solis. Stopping at an island in 
the mouth of a river sixty miles wide, they caught in one hour penguins 
sufficient for the whole five ships. Magellan anchored for the winter in 
a harbour found in south latitude 49 deg., and called by bim Port 
Julian. Two months elapsed before the country was discovered to be 
inhabited. At last a man of gigantic figure presented himself upon the 
shore, capering in the sands in a state of utter nudity, and violently 
casting dust upon his head. A sailor was sent ashore to make similar 
gestures, and the giant was thus easily led to the spot where Magellan 
had landed. The latter gave him cooked food to eat, and presented 
him incidentally with a large steel mirror. The savage now saw his 
likeness for the first time, and started back in such fright that he 
knocked over four men. He and several of his companions, both men 
and women, subsequently went on board the ships, and constantly indi- 
cated by their gestures that they supposed the strangers to have 
descended from heaven. One of the savages became quite a favourite ; 
he was taught to pronounce the name of Jesus and to repeat the Lord's 
Prayer, and was even baptised by the name of John by the chaplain. 
This profession of Christianity did the poor pagan no good, for he soon 
disappeared— murdered, doubtless, by his people, in consequence of his 
attachment to the foreigners. 

The whole description given by Pigafetta of these savages, whom 
Magellan called Patagonians — from words indicating the resemblance 
of their feet, when shod with the skin of the llama, to the feet of a bear 
— is now known to be much exaggerated. It is certain that they were 
by no means so gigantic as he represented them. He adds, that they 
drank half a pail of water at a draught, fed upon raw meat, and 
swallowed mice alive ; that when they were sick and needed bleeding, 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 343 

they gave a good chop with some edged tool to the part affected ; when 
they wished to vomit, they thrust an arrow half a yard down their 
throat. The headache was cured by a gash in the forehead. 

The Patagonia Indians are tall and bulky, and, though not absolutely 
gigantic, they may be said, after rejecting the exaggerations of the 
early, and the contradictory statements of later, travellers, to be the 
tallest people of whom we have any accounts, the average height of the 
men being probably not under six feet. Their heads and features are 
large, but their hands and feet are small ; and their limbs are neither so 
muscular nor so large-boned as their height and apparent stoutness 
would induce one to suppose. They are of a dark brown copper colour^ 
with black hair, lank and coarse, and tied above the temples by a fillet 
of plaited or twisted sinews. A large mantle of guanaco skins, loosely 
gathered about them, and hanging from the shoulders to the ankles, is, 
with a kind of drawers and loose buskins, almost their only article of 
dress, and adds much to the bulkiness of their appearance. They 
neither pierce the nose nor lips, but disfigure themselves greatly with 
paint. They lead a wandering life, living in tents formed of poles and 
skins, and subsisting on the flesh of the wild animals they catch. Both 
men and women ride on horseback, and are often furnished with 
saddles, bridles, stirrups, spurs, and Spanish goods of various kinds, 
which they obtain from Valdivia and other places in South Chili, 
Their arms consist generally of a long tapering lance, a knife, or a 
scimitar, if one can be procured, and the holas^ a missile weapon of a 
singular kind, carried in the girdle, and consisting of two round stones 
covered with leather^ each weighing about a pons id. These, which are 
fastened to the two ends of a string, about eight feet in length, are used 
as a sling, one stone being kept in the hand, and the other whirled 
round the head till it is supposed to have acquired sufficient force, 
when they are together discharged at the object. The Patagonians are 
BO expert at the management of this double-headed shot that they will 
hit a mark not bigger than a shilling with both the stones at a distance 
of fifteen yards. It is not customary with them, however, to strike 
either the guanaco or the ostrich with them, but to disc harge them so 
that the cord comes against the legs of the ostrich, or the fore-legs of 
the guanaco, and is twisted round them by the force and swing of the 
balls, so that the animal, being unable to run, becomes an easy prey to 
the hunters. These people live under various petty chiefs, who, how- 
ever, seem to possess but little authority. 







1. -.i • "^ Tvut 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. U^ 

The guanaco abounds over the whole of the temperate parts of 
South America, from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego, through 
Patagonia, the hilly parts of La Plata, Chili, even to the Cordillera of 
Peru. Its wool is in request, being of a fine texture; the general 
colour is rich rufous brown, the head and ears being grey. The neck is 
peculiarly long, the tail a little raised and curved round; the height at 
the top of the shoulders about three and a half feet. 

Generally, the guanacos, which go in herds, are wild and extremely 
wary. The sportsman frequently receives the first intimation of their 
presence by hearing from a distance the peculiar shrill neighing note 
of alarm. If he then looks attentively he will perhaps see the herd 
standing in a line on some distant hill. On approaching them a few 
more squeals are given, and then off they set at an apparently slow 
but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neigh- 
bouring hill. If, however, by chance he should abruptly meet a single 
animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless, and 
intently gaze at him, then perhaps move on a few yards, turn round, 
and look again. That they are curious is certain, for if a person lies 
on the ground and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet 
in the air, they will approach by degrees to reconnoitre him. This 
is an artifice frequently practised by sportsmen with success, as it has, 
moreover, the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which 
are all taken as parts of the performance. Another mode of capturing 
them by the Indians is for many hunters to join and drive them into a 
narrow pass, across which cords have been drawn about four feet from 
the ground, with bits of cloth or wool tied to them at short distances, 
somewhat in the way adopted by gardeners to keep smaU birds from 
the seeds. If there are guanacos among them they leap the cords. 

On the first arrival of the Spaniards, llamas were used as beasts of 
burden ; indeed they were the only animals which the natives had for 
conveying merchandise from one part to another, of which a hundred- 
weight was a sufficient load for one of ordinary size, with which they 
could travel only about fifteen miles a day. The llamas are now only 
used in high, mountainous districts, as horses are so numerous that 
they are easily obtained in South America. The flesh is still eaten by 
•the Indians and settlers, the former regarding it as a great delicacy. 
Cords and sacks, as well as stuffs for ponchos and other articles, are 
made from the wool. In Mexico the bones are changed into weaving 
implements. Even the dung is used for fuel. 



346 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



CHAPTER XV. 

About California — Its Discovery — How it attained to Notoriety, and. won Golden 
Opinions of all Men— Concerning the Gold Regions — Mr. Butler King's 
Report — How the Gold was Found— How the News Spread — How the 
People Gathered — How Fortunes were Made and Lest— Billionaires and 
Bankrupts — Fraser River— How California got its Name — Gold! Gold! — ■ 
The Ship Canal — Something About San Francisco. 

/CALIFORNIA — most golden of tlie auriferous regions of America 
^^ in modern times — was discovered by Don Cabrilla, in the year 
1542. Thirty-six years later Sir Francis Drake coasted its shores. It 
was not colonised by the Spaniards till 1768, when several military posts, 
presidios^ and mission stations were set up. Not till about the year 1836 
was the country much resorted to either by English or Americans. 
When, however, settlers began to dwell in "the good land" they were 
irritated and annoyed by the rule of Mexico, and after the war between 
the United States and that unhappy country, California was ceded to 
the Union (1848). 

Very shortly after this California attained a marvellous notoriety 
— it was the modern Ophir ! The discovery of the auriferous deposits 
rendered it an object of universal interest, directed to her shores an 
unparalleled amount of emigration, and increased her population, in 
two or three years, in a tenfold proportion ! 

The gold region of California, says Mr. Butler King, is between 
four and five hundred miles long, and from forty to fifty miles broad, 
following the line of the Sierra Nevada. Further discoveries may, • 
and probably will, increase the area. It embraces within its limits 
those extensive ranges of hills which rise on the eastern border of 
the plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and extending east- 
wardly from fifty to sixty miles, they attain an elevation of about 
four thousand feet, and terminate at the base of the main ridge of the 
Sierra Nevada, There are numerous streams which have their sources 
in the springs of the Sierra, and receive the water from its melting 
snows, and that which falls in rain during the wet season. 

These streams form rivers which have cut their channels through the 
ranges of foot-hills westwardly to the plain, and disembogue into the 
Sacramento and San Joaquin. These rivers are from ten to fifteen 
miles, and some of them probably twenty miles, apart. 

The principal formation, or substratum, in these hills is talcose 



THE GOLDEN AMEKIGAS. 347 

slate ; the superstratum, sometimes penetrating to a great depth, is 
quartz. This, however, does not cover the entire face of the country, 
but extends in large bodies in various directions ; is found in masses and 
small fragments on the surface, and seen along the ravines, and in the 
mountains overhanging the rivers, and in the hill sides in its original 
beds. It crops out in the valleys and on the tops of the hills, and forms a 
striking feature of the entire country over which it extends. From 
innumerable evidences and indications it has come to be the universally 
admitted opinion among the miners, and intelligent men who have 
examined this region, that the gold, whether in detached particles and 
pieces, or in veins, was created in combination with the quartz. Gold 
is not found on the surface of the country presenting the appearance of 
having been throv/n up and scattered in all directions by volcanic action. 
It is found only in particular localities, and attended by peculiar circum- 
stances and indications. It is found in the bars and shoals of the rivers, 
in ravines, and what are called the " dry diggings." 

The rivers, in forming their channels, or breaking their way through 
the hills, have come in contact with the quartz containing the gold 
veins, and by constant attrition cut the gold into fine flakes and dust, 
and it is found among the sand and gravel of their beds at those places 
where the swiftness of the current reduces it in the dry season to the 
narrowest possible limits, and where a wide margin is consequently left 
on each side, over which the water rushes, during the wet season, with 
great force. 

As the velocity of some streams is greater than others, so is the gold 
found in fine or coarse particles, apparently corresponding to the degree 
of attrition to which it has been exposed. The water from the hills and 
upper valleys, in finding its way to the rivers, has cut deep ravines, and 
wherever it came in contact with the quartz, has dissolved or crumbled 
it in pieces. In the dry season these channels are mostly without 
water, and gold is found in the beds and margins of many of them in 
large quantities, but in a much coarser state than in the rivers, owing, 
undoubtedly, to the moderate flow and temporary continuance of the 
current, which has reduced it to smooth shapes, not unlike pebbles, but 
had not sufficient force to cut it into flakes or dust. 

The dry diggings are places where quartz containing gold has 
cropped out, and been disintegrated, crumbled to fragments, pebbles, 
and dust, by the action of the water and the atmosphere. The gold 
has been left, as it was made, in all imaginable shapes, in pieces of 



348 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

all sizes, from one grain to several pounds in weight. The evidences 
that it was created in combination with quartz are too numerous and 
striking to admit of doubt or cavil. They are found in combination in 
large quantities. A very large proportion of the pieces of gold found in 
these situations have more or less^quartzTadhering to them. In many 
specimens they are so combined they cannot be separated without 
reducing the whole mass to powder and subjecting it to the action of 
quicksilver. This gold, not having been exposed to the attrition of 
a strong current of water, retains in a great degree its original con- 
formation. 

These diggings, in some places, spread over valleys of considerable 
extent, which have the appearance of an alluvion, formed by washings 
from the adjoining hills, of decomposed quartz, and slate, earth, and 
vegetable matter. In addition to these facts, it is, beyond doubt, true 
that several vein-mines have been discovered in the quartz, from which 
numerous specimens have been taken, showing the minute connection 
between the gold and the rock, and indicating a value hitherto unknown 
n gold mining. 

These veins do not present the appearance of places where gold may 
have been lodged by some violent eruption. It is combined with the 
quartz in all imaginable forms and degrees of richness. The rivers 
present very striking, and, it would seem, conclusive evidence, respecting 
the quantity of gold remaining undiscovered in the quartz veins. It is 
not probable that the gold in the dry diggings, and that in the rivers — 
the former in lumps, the latter in dust — was created by different pro- 
cesses. That which is found in the rivers has,^undoubtedly, been cut 
or worn from the veins in the rock with which their currents have 
come in contact. All of them appear to be equally rich. This is 
shown by the fact that a labouring man may collect nearly as much in 
one river as he can in another. They intersect and cut through the 
gold region, running from east to west, at irregular distances of fifteen, 
twenty, and sometimes thirty miles apart. 

Hence it appears that the gold veins are equally rich in aU parts of 
that most remarkable section of country. Were it wanting, there are 
further proofs of this in the ravines and dry diggings, which uniformly 
confirm what Nature so plainly shows in the rivers. 

We may shortly state that the works, or " diggings," as they are 
termed, are divided into wet and dry, the former^being^those in the beds 
of the rivers and streams, and the latter in the higher grounds. It is 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 349 

a mistake to suppose that gold is found only in the beds of the rivers. 
It is distributed through all the detritus of certain valleys, or parts of 
valleys, and ravines, and is merely exhibited, as it were, in the banks 
and sands of the rivers and watercourses. The instruments used by 
the diggers were, in the first instance at least, of the rudest descrip- 
tion. After being dug up, the ore is placed in a basket or sieve, and 
washed, to free it from sand, earth, and other impurities. The hard- 
ships and fatigue hitherto undergone at the diggings have often been 
very great, and those only who had the advantage of a strong consti- 
tution could expect to brave them with impunity. Parties in the 
"wet diggings" are frequently immersed, under a broiling sun, in 
water up to the knees, or higher, and though the labour in the " dry 
diggings " be perhaps less dangerous, it also is of a kind that nothing 
but the auri sacra fames would induce most persons to undertake. It 
is probable, however, that in consequence of the better settling of the 
country, these serious drawbacks either have been, or speedily will be, 
materially abated. The search for gold is occasionally prosecuted for a 
lengthened period without success, while, on the other hand, some 
fortunate individuals tumble at once on a rich deposit, where they 
make large sums, with but little labour, and give fresh stimulus to the 
hopes and exertions of every one else. In the autumn, fever and ague 
prevail to a considerable extent in some of the valleys, and have proved 
fatal to not a few of the diggers. 

Quicksilver is also a product of California. The only mine at 
present worked is situated near San Joseph, within a short distance of 
the south angle of the bay of San Francisco. It belongs to, or is 
claimed by, Mr. Forbes, of Tepic, is wrought by miners from Mexico, 
and is very productive. Quicksilver, and also silver, are said to be 
found in sundry other places. 

It was known from the statements of the earlier visitors of the 
country that gold had been found, or was believed to exist, in Cali- 
fornia; but these statements had been either forgotten or made no 
impression, and it was not till late in May, or early in June, 1848, that 
the auriferous deposits were discovered that have attracted so much 
attention, and have had such wonderful results. They were found on 
the south fork of the American river, a tributary of the Sacramento, at 
a place now called Coloma. The news of the discovery, and of the 
unparalleled richness of the deposits, spread with extraordinary 
rapidity, and Mr. B. King states that before the end of the season 



350 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



bliat II 
)rth Ij 

the I' 



about five thousand men had been attracted to the spot, and that 
their enterprise had been rewarded by the acquisition of gold worth 
£1,000,000 sterling. During the following winter information of 
discovery spread on all sides, and to a great distance, and in the season 
of 1849 immigrants of all descriptions, and from the remotest countries, 
including Americans, Mexicans, Peruvians, Chilinos, Europeans, South 
Sea Islanders, Chinese, and others crowded in swarms to the Sacra- 
mento and its affluents. A camp of at least ten thousand Mexicans is 
said to have been formed. " They had," says Mr. B. King, "quite a 
city of tents, booths, and log cabins, hotels, restaurants, stores, and 
shops of all descriptions, furnishing whatever money could procure. 
Ice was brought from the Sierra, and ice-creams added to other 
luxuries. An inclosure made of the trunks and branches of trees, 
and lined with cotton cloth, served as a sort of amphitheatre for bull- 
fights ; other amusements, characteristic of the Mexicans, were to be 
seen in all directions." 

The foreigners resorted principally to the south mines, which gave 
them a great superiority in numerical force over the Americans, and 
enabled them to take possession of some of the richest in that part 
of the country. In the early part of the season the Americans were 
mostly employed on the forks of the American. As their numbers 
increased they spread themselves over the south mines, and collisions 
were threatened between them and the foreigners. The latter, how- 
ever, from some cause, either fear, or having satisfied their cupidity, 
or both, began to leave the mines late in August, and by the end of 
September many of them were out of the country. 

Mr. King estimates the gold collected in 1849 at the immense sum 
of about 40,000,000 dollars, or £8,000,000 sterling ! Since then the 
immigration into the country has vastly increased, and still greater 
quantities of gold have been collected. Hitherto it had been princi- 
pally taken from the north rivers, those which flow into the San 
Joaquin having been comparatively neglected. But Mr. King says 
that the latter are believed, by those who have visited them, to be 
richer than those more to the north. 

It is also stated that deposits have been discovered in the Trinity, 
a river which, rising north of the sources of the Sacramento, flows west 
to the Pacific, into which it empties itself in about the 40th degree 
atitude ; and it is further afiirmed that gold has been discovered in 
other and still more remote localities, or in certain points of the Gila 



THE GOLDEI>J AMERICAS. 351 

and Colardo. But the truth is that our information is a great deal too 
scanty and imperfect to enable any estimate to be formed either in 
regard to the extent or richness of the auriferous region. It is probable 
that in both respects there has been a good deal of exaggeration. Still, 
however, there can be no question, as evinced by the quantities already 
obtained, that the deposits are of the richest description ; and if the 
surface over which they extend be anything like the reported extent, it 
will be long indeed before they can be exhausted ; and the influx of 
the precious metal obtained from them will have a powerful, and, we 
think, a highly beneficial, effect in all parts of the commercial world. 

California was born of a mining excitement. Mjirshall picked up 
the first piece of gold at Sutter's Mill, on the 19th of January, 1848 ; 
on the 7th of March, Humphreys showed the men how to separate 
the precious metal from the clay and gravel by washing ; and in May, 
the people of the territory made a general rush to the mines. The first 
reports of the discovery reached the Atlantic slope in September, and 
as they were soon confirmed in the most emphatic manner by private 
letters, by official reports, and by shipments of gold-dust, the eastern 
states were filled with excitement. It so happened that the news came 
soon after the close of the Mexican war, from which thousands of young 
men had just returned, after several years of most exciting adventure. 
The victors of Buena Vista and Chapaltepec did not feel disposed to 
spend their lives in planting corn and maulmg rails. California was 
the place for which they had been waiting. The facts that on the 
Sacramento, men without capital, without experience, without education, 
and without even association, were making from a hundred to a thousand 
dollars a day,* that there were rich mines for everybody, that the 
climate was a perpetual spring, and that the country had great natural 
resources, besides its mineral wealth — these facts were enough to pro- 
foundly affect a people like the Americans. And they were profoundly 
affected. From the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic 
to the borders of the Indian territory, the chief subjects of conversation 
in every town, in the spring of 181:9, were Calif ornia and the multitudes 
■who were going thither. Fifty tliousand of the most active men of the 
nation went in that year to the new El Dorado, and for four years more 
an equal number followed annually. They went to a new land, on the 
other side of the world, on the shore of an ocean almost unknown ; a 

* From £20 to £200. 



352 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

land of wonders, a land of strange industry, of strange society, and of 
unexampled rewards for labour and enterprise. Fortunes were made 
and lost in a month. Everybody was flush of money beyond all expe- 
rience, and the majority spent it as fast as they got it. The gambling 
saloons were the places where the bulk of the population met in the 
evening. There were few women, few homes, no costly houses, or 
dear furniture. Every man was independent, and most of the miners 
could carry all their property on their backs without inconvenience. 

In the valleys, towns, and cities, although the population was more 
permanent, business was far from having the steady character which it 
has in Europe, or the Atlantic states. The hope of a high profit is 
better even to-day than the certainty of a small one. We have reversed 
the proverb, and two birds in the bush are worth more than one in the 
hand — provided we can come within good range of them before they fly ! 
The isolated situation of the state, its entire dependence for most of the 
necessaries of life on the Atlantic coast, the small population, the facili- 
ties for buying up the stocks of merchandise and forestalling the market, 
led to a multitude of remarkable speculations. The abundance of 
money, the high rates of interest, the rapid increase of population, the 
fires and floods, the insecurity of titles, and the general intention among 
the CaUfornians in early times to return to their old homes, contributed 
to discourage slow and sure methods of doing business, and to impress 
the whole state with the stamp of speculation and feverish anxiety to 
make great fortunes. A considerable proportion of the leading business 
men are now, and were to a much larger extent eighteen years ago, 
hopeful of becoming millionaires, but not quite confident of escaping 
bankruptcy. 

But the mining population was especially restless. Every week 
reports were circulated that new diggings had been found where fifty 
dollars, or one hundred dollars, or five hundred dollars a day could be 
made, and many always went to verify the reports, but so many of 
these stories were circulated, and being told of places near by, were so 
soon contradicted, that none of them attracted general attention, until 
January, 1851, when gold v/as found in the sands at Gold Bluff, on the 
ocean shore in Klamath county. lialf-a-dozen well-known persons 
answered that the immense masses of sand on the beach contained from 
three to ten dollars of gold per pound. One gentleman, who went 
thither for a company, sent them word that their claim would yield 
forty-three million dollars to each member ! In those days, when little 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



353 



was understood about the distribution of gold, this story was not 
incredible, and scarcely improbable, and in two days after these state- 
ments were published, eight vessels were advertised in San Francisco 
for Gold Bluff. Many had started previously, and thousands prepared 
now to start ; but soon the other side was heard, and, as no confirmation 
came, the excitement died away almost as rapidly as it arose. 

The discovery of the Australian mines occurred in 1851, at the 
time when the California diggings were still in a very productive 
condition, and very few left the coast. About the close of 1853 a 




AT THE DIGGINGS. 



series of false letters, in regard to the opening of rich gold-mines on 
the head-waters of the Amazon in Peru, were published in the Panama 
papers, and, as it was supposed that they were written in good faith 
and had some foundation in fact, they were republished by the public 
journals of California. They misled a thousand men to go to'Callao, 
and on their arrival there they were astonished to find that the people 
in Peru had never heard of the new diggings. 

The Kern River excitement, in the spring of 1855, surpassed every- 
thing that had preceded it. In this case, as in several others which 
had gone before it, a number of false letters, written undoubtedly with 
a deliberate purpose to deceive, were published. The purpose was 
attained, for not less than five thousand miners went to Kern River, 
and as many had prepared to follow them. Men in every branch of 

2a 



354 THE GOLDEJT AMERICAS. 

employment threw up their business, or sold out at a sacrifice. Labour 
rose in value, and many farms and mines lay idle for the lack of 
labourers. It looked for a time as though all other places were to be 
deserted for Kern River. But in a few weeks it was known that there 
never had been rich diggings in the valley, and that the few claims 
which had paid were worked out. 

For nearly three years the miners of California enjoyed comparative 
quiet, and then in the spring of 1858 came the news that rich auriferous 
deposits had been discovered on the banks of Eraser River, within a 
hundred miles of its mouth. The diggings were not extensive, but the 
gold was fine, implying that it had been carried by the river a consider- 
able distance, and the opinion was formed from the analogies of 
California experience that there must be rich and extensive placers in 
the upper part of the basin of the stream. The Sacramento, the 
Feather, and the San Joaquin rivers never had any rich bars near their 
mouths, and they are far from being so large or so long as the Fraser. 
It was evident that the gold of the bars near Yale had not come from 
the neighbouring hills, but had been brought down by the current for 
a long distance. These facts justified the presumption, which, however, 
was not verified, that the valley of the Fraser must be richer in gold 
than that of the Sacramento was in 1849 ; and this presumption was 
the main cause of the Fraser fever. Another cause was that the miners 
were sjDoiling for an excitement. Many of the rich placers were 
exhausted. The line rivers, the gulches, and the shallow flats would no 
longer pay for white labour. The country was full of men who could 
no longer earn the wages to which they had become accustomed, and 
they were unwilling to come down to farming at thirty dollars per 
month. They had become industriously desperate. They were ready 
to go anywhere if there was a reasonable hope of rich diggings, rather 
than submit to live without the high pay and excitement which they 
had enjoyed for years on the shores of the Sacramento. Many of them 
had become unfit for the placid and orderly routine of the common 
labourer in other countries. They were demoralised by prosperity. 
These men welcomed the rumours that a new California had been found 
in the basin of the Fraser with joy and enthusiasm. They would not 
wait for the verification of the rumours. They would not allow others 
more confident than themselves to go and take up all the good claims. 
They started with as little delay as possible, and the people of Victoria, 
through whose town all the news came to San Francisco, were amazed 



THE GOLDEX AMERICAS. 355 

at the rusli of tliousands of Californians for diggings which had yielded 
little gold, and had been taken up so far as they were known or 
accessible. 

The first notice of the mines was published in March ; on the 20th of 
April the migration commenced, and in that month five hundred adven- 
turers went ; in May, two thousand ; in June, nine thousand five hun- 
dred ; and in the first ten days of July, six thousand to eighteen thousand 
in all. Nine steamers and twenty sailing vessels Avere engaged in the 
trade, the distance being only one thousand miles by sea, and the breezes 
very favourable to sailers. By the 10th of July more than one voter in 
six had left the state, and it seemed probable that the migration vt^ould 
continue at the same ratio. The mining counties, having few homes, 
were the chief sufferers. Some of them lost more than a third of their 
population. General bankruptcy stared them in the face. Real estate 
lost from twenty-five to seventy-five per cent, of its market value. 
The stages were unable to carry the passengers bound to Eraser River 
as fast as they applied. San Francisco, although the adventurers pur- 
chased their supplies and spent money there while waiting for the vessels 
that were to carry them off, suffered also. There was a great decrease 
in the value of city lands ; lots in Montgomery-street south of Bush, 
now worth one thousand five hundred dollars, were offered for one 
hundred dollars per front foot. Several of the wealthiest real estate 
owners made preparations to " hedge," and save themselves from loss 
here by buying lots in Victoria. Claims in the mining districts in 
demand in March at one thousand dollars went begging in June for 
buyers at one hundred dollars, and the town property in the mountains 
suffered an equal depreciation. It seemed that the glory of California 
had departed. But the Eraser fever terminated more suddenly than it 
commenced. Though there were thousands of skilful miners on Eraser 
River, up to the 10th of July less than one hundred thousand dollars in 
gold dust had arrived in San Erancisco. Their letters to their friends 
v/ere not encouraging. They had been told before starting that the 
river was high with melting snow, and that the bars would not be 
accessible until low water should come with midsummer, and they were 
willing to wait ; but those parts above high-water mark did not pay 
like the high bars of the Yuba and Eeather in 1819, and there were no 
ravine diggings like those of California. Some of the adventurers had 
succeeded in ascending the river several hundred miles, but they 
found nothing that came up to their expectations. In Victoria there 



356 THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 

■were eight thousand men without employment, and many of them with- 
out money. On the 10th of July there were not less than two thousand 
men in San Francisco ready to sail for Eraser River, and thousands of 
•others in all parts of the state were preparing to start notwithstanding 
the lack of encouraging news ; but their intentions were changed within 
two days. The steamer Brother Jonathan, which sailed from the port 
on the 8th of July, foundered at sea ; and though this disaster proved 
nothing against Eraser Eiver, it was the shock which crystallised the 
general idea previously entertained unconsciously that the rush had 
continued too long. The migration suddenly stopped ; soon the adven- 
turers began to come back, and in a few months they were nearly all at 
work in their old places, many of them cured of their desperation by 
their hardships and privation in British Columbia, and glad to get back 
on any terms to " God's country," as they called it. 

In the spring of 1860 the Washoe excitement began. Silver mining 
was a new business to the Californians, but they rushed into it furiously. 
The Comstock Lode was one of the largest and richest silver veins in 
the world, yet, notvAthstanding the inexperience of the miners, it was 
develo]3ed with a speed never witnessed elsewhere. Some of the ore 
yielded five thousand dollars per ton. In 1863 the mines produced 
twelve million dollars, more than any other silver district had ever 
yielded ; and in June of that year the Gould and Curry mine alone 
was worth, at the market price of the stock, six million dollars, and 
several others were worth more than one million dollars each. Immense 
fortunes were made, mostly by residents of San Erancisco, who brought 
their profits there, and used them to enrich and beautify the city. 
Washoe is nearer to the Golden Gate then is Shasta, or Los Angeles, 
and all its trade came to California, which, however, did much in 
return, for three thousand silver mining companies, with thirty thousand 
stockholders, a nominal capital of one billion dollars, and market value 
of about fifty million dollars, were organised. Many of these companies 
employed prospectors, and sent them out travelling over Nevada to 
find silver mines, and transferred large amounts of money from the 
western to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Everybody that had 
any money was crazy for shares in silver mines, of which they knew 
nothing, and of which their friends knew nothing, and of which, indeed, 
nothing could be known, as they had never been opened or examined 
in any way. Usually a certificate of assay was produced to prove that 
the lode was rich ; but the sample assayed was small, and the only 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 357 

evidence that the sample came from the lode in which a claim was to 
be sold was the assertion of some unknown individual, while the 
richness of a genuine sample was no proof of the general character of 
the lode. 

For three years the rush of people and the manufacture of stock 
went on. The fact that only a dozen mines paid dividends, and that 
two thousand nine hundred and eighty- eight others cost more than 
they came to, did not seem to attract or deserve attention, and the 
excitement continued until it was stopped by a shock. The Gould and 
Curry mine, which possessed a large deposit of rich ore, had worked 
it nearly out, with great speed and in a very wasteful manner, but so 
as to pay splendid dividends. A few of the leading stockholders, having 
examined the mine and come i;o the conclusion that the large dividends 
must soon come to an end, sold their shares and advised their friends 
to do likewise. A large quantity of the stock was thrown on the 
market ; the price fell rapidly, and in a year after it was sold for five 
thousand six hundred dollars, it sold for only nine hundred dollars per 
foot. The value of that one mine had no influence on the productive- 
ness of any other ; but its panic produced a similar effect on all the other 
silver stocks, and the Washoe fever came to an end. The mines which 
were paying were thenceforth valued according to their dividends, and 
the others were dead. People looked back on their folly with amaze- 
ment. They had entered into a business of which they knew nothing ; 
they had purchased property which they had never seen ; they had 
intrusted it to men of whom they knew nothing save that they were 
ignorant of silver mining, which more than any other occupation 
requires the attention of experts and the supervision of the owner. 
There was no search of title — none of the checks required by prudence 
in other transactions. It is not strange that thirty million dollars were 
paid for worthless paper, and spent on useless work. Thousands of 
]:iouseholds were impoverished, but as many others were enriched, and 
as work was abundant and wages high, the state and metropolis were 
the gainers in the general result. 

Turning from these practical business details, let us inquire how 
California came by its name. "What's in a name?" Shakspeare 
makes Juliet say — this is all very well for a love-sick girl, but there 
is much in a name. An American writer dilates upon it largely. 
Cronise says — and we have neither grounds nor inclination to question 
his authority, though we have not the means of verifying it— that the 



358 THE GOLDEIS^ AMERICAS. 

name occurs for the first time in a Spanish novel, and that it was first 
applied to an actual country — namely, to a portion of what is now 
Lower California — by Bernal Diaz. This latter statement he gives on 
the authority of Yenegas, whose Natural and Civil History of California 
was published in 1758. From other sources we learn that Bernal Diaz 
discovered Lower California and applied the name in 1534. This is 
about the extent of our positive information on the subject — anything 
beyond this is inference. 

A name is a word, and in tracing the derivation of a word the laws 
of etymology demand two things — first, a reasonable resemblance in 
sound as well as meaning, any changes that may present themselves 
following a certain analogy ; and, second, a j)robable histoiical con- 
nection. Let us illustrate by an example : — Our English word 
"stranger" is formed from the Latin preposition "ex," which was in 
certain circumstances ^vritten as a simple " e," showing that the "x" 
was not an essential part of it. The change of form from "e" to 
"stranger" may appear very violent, but is clearly traceable. From 
"ex" comes the preposition "extra" (as "intra," "citra," and 
"ultra," from "in," " cis," and a lost root); from "extra" comes 
"extraneous;" from the latter the old French "e5^m??^er" (modern, 
'-'■ etranger'') \ and from this last our English "stranger." AVe have 
chosen this illustration becaase all the Latin words have been adopted 
into English, so that they will be familiar to every reader. The 
historical descent from the Latin through the French to the English 
is so well known that proof is wholly unnecessary. We may now 
briefly notice the conjectures that have been already hazarded on the 
question before us. 

The Spanish words " Caliente Jwrno " (hot oven) have been assumed 
as a plausible origin for the name, and the tcmescals, or " sweat-houses," 
of the natives have been cited as a probable occason for it. The change 
of "h" into "f " forms not the slightest difficulty, being entirely in 
analogy with the change of '■^ femina " (" woman ") into " liemhra,''' and 
'■'■fame " ("hunger ") into " liainbrse^'''' and of course nothing was more 
probable than that the Spanish discoverers should give the country a 
Spanish name, unless it be that they should retain an Indian one. But, 
besides the objection that the name was known in 1510 (at which time 
it is hardly possible that anything should have been known of the 
native sweat-houses), there is another which is absolutely destructive of 
the hypothesis. It is in direct contra iliction of the usage or analogy 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 359 

of tlie language. No Spaniard would use the phrase " Caliente homo " 
any more than an English-speaking person would saj, " He wore a hat 
black," or "His wife is a woman handsome." Homo caliente is the 
only admissible way in which the words could be used, and if the name 
had been formed from these elements, with the assumed change in their 
form (which would be a violent one, however), it would quite certainly 
have been Fornicalia, never California. 

The Greek " Kala phora nea" and " Kala phor-neia,"and the Latin 
*' Calida-fornax," fail utterly, as Cronise observes, in historical proba- 
bility. The assumption would be a violent one that the originator of 
the name was acquainted with them, and still more so that, if he was, 
he should have drawn upon that knowledge to find a name for his new 
acquisition, instead of taking one from his native tongue. 

Cronise remarks (though merely as a curious circumstance) that in 
Bavaria rosin is called " Kalifornea." The true state of the case is, 
crude rosin is called " Harz ;" but the prepared rosin, which is used for 
fiddle-bows and other purposes, is known in the German Pharmacopoeia 
by the name of " Colophonium," from " Colophon," an ancient Greek 
city of south-western Asia Minor. Under this name it is sold by 
druggists all over Germany, but is frequently asked for under that of 
*' Californium ;" punningiy by those who know better ; ignorantly by 
those to whom the name of the thriving young state is more familiar 
than that of the old Greek town. This, therefore, helps us nothing in 
our inquiry. 

We have before alluded to the possibility of the name being from 
an Indian source. In those names left among us from the old Indian 
languages of the country there are not wanting traces of a capability 
for combination which show that they might furnish such a name as 
*' California." Thus the termination of " Mokel-umne," " Tuol-umne," 
and " Cos-umnes," seem to point to a root of some such nature as our 
English "hurst," "dale," or "holm." Thus also " So-noma," " So- 
lano," " So-toyome," and " So-nora," may be surmised to be com- 
pounds, all containing a common root, and there is a name in the 
neighbourhood on which a daring speculator might build an hypothesis 
of an Indian origin — namely, " Cali-stoga." But, in the first place, do 
we know that " Cali-stoga" is an Indian name? We are not at all 
events possessed of sufficient information either to affirm or deny it. 
In the next place, taking it for Indian, we must bear in mind that the 
name of California was first applied to a locality more than one thou- 



360 THE GOLDEN AIMERICAS. 

sand miles distant from Calistoga, and although we may reasonably 
conclude that the same language prevailed in places so close together 
as Sotoyome (near Healdsberg), Sonoma, Solano, and even Sonora, the 
probabilities are materially altered when we are considering two 
places so far apart as the head of Napa Yalley and St. Lucas. Then, 
again, how did the author of the romance, written in or before the year 
1510, hear of the Indian name, supposing it to have been then in 
existence in the country ? Anahuac and Peru were powerful empires, 
the fame of which had spread far over the continent, and vague 
reports of the latter reached Vasco Nunez at Darien many years before 
the country itself was discovered by Europeans. But the tribes of 
California were small, feeble, and unknown to fame ; not till three 
centuries and a half after that novel was written was its renown to 
spread through the habitable world. In short, the hypothesis must be 
given up ; it has nothing like ground enough to rest upon. What, 
then, have we to warrant us in supposing that Bernal Diaz was 
acquainted with the name before he came to this coast and applied it 
on his discovering the country ? and where did tlie author of the novel 
get it from ? The answer to these two questions will exhaust what can 
be said on our subject. 

Bernal Diaz left Spain with the expedition sent out under Pedrarias 
in the end of 1513 or commencement of the following year. Even 
supposing, therefore, that it was not quite so simple a matter in those 
days to mail the last new novel to a friend in the colonies as it is now, 
still he had abundant opportunity to see it before he left home. That 
he was a man of sufficient intelligence and education to be likely to 
read it is sufficiently proved by the excellent True History of the Conquest 
of New Spain of which he was the author, a work which has [done 
more to bring his name down to our days than either his gallantry as a 
soldier in the hard fights by which Mexico was won, or his enterprise 
as a discoverer. Beyond these probabilities, it is true, we cannot 
advance, for he nowhere makes any allusion to the work nor quotation 
from it. But if we calculate the probabilities of the same combination 
of sounds being fallen upon by him and by the author of the romance 
(or even of the same name being borrowed by both from the same 
source), independently of each other, we shall find them to be^to^the 
former as one to a million. It is true that the name Missouri occurs in 
Kurdistan as well as in the Western States, with no possibility of 
connection between them, and that of Tehama in Arabia as well as in 



THE GOLDEN AjMERICAS. 361 

California, with the barest shadow of a possible connection ; but these 
examples exhaust the list of such cases. 

As to the probability of his thinking of it when he found California, 
some more tangible grounds can be shown. In the romance so often 
mentioned the following passage occurs : — "Know that on the right 
hand of the Indies" [that is, to the north of Mexico, as Diaz would 




ON THE COAST. 

understand the expression] "there is an island called California, very- 
near to the terrestrial paradise." Lower California was long taken to 
be an island, and it was an idea of Columbus, as well as of Las Casas, 
with both of whom Diaz might well be acquainted, that the terrestrial 
paradise was somewhere in this part of the world. If, therefore, he 
was acquainted with the above passage, it would certainly, to a man 
with his ideas and beliefs, appear very applicable to the country which 
he had discovered. 

Leaving it, then, to our readers to attach such degree of likelihood 



862 THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 

as they judge fit to the first supposition, we proceed to our last question, 
Where did the author of the romance find the name ? 

In considering this question we must bear in mind that the author 
knew nothing whatever of the country he described, consequently 
<30uld not be influenced by any circumstances connected with it — such 
as local name, local customs, physical appearance, or natural pro- 
ductions. The considerations that would recommend a name to him 
would be of a wholly different nature. Now we have a suggestion to 
offer, which our readers must judge of for themselves, though, of 
course, if we did not consider it a likely one, we should not take the 
trouble to present it. I 

Some one thousand six hundred years before that romance was 
written there lived at Rome a lady, filling a very prominent position 
there. She was the wife of a rising politician, called Caius Julius 
Caesar, and her name was Calphurnia. Now, the name is sufficiently _ 
nucommon to have a little smack of novelty about it, which might well | 
recommend it to the writer of a romance, while at the same time it is I 
not so obscure as to render it unlikely that it would be known to a ' 
man moderately acquainted with ancient history. It has come down 
as a name to our own times, being now borne by a lady who was 
recently matron of one of the large charitable institutions of San Fran- 
cisco. 'j ;;The changes in the spelling are very slight, and all warranted 
by abundant analogies. Thus the insertion of the i is the same as the 
difference between the English cap-tain or chap-ter and the Spanish 
cap-i-tan or cap-i-tulo, all from the same Latin root; the change of 
pJi to / is what every Spaniard makes daily when he writes fotografia 
for photography ; and the change of w to o is the same as from the 
Latin diurnas (daily) to its Spanish derivative /or?? aZ (journal). 

Perhaps some very inquisitive person may ask, what does the name 
Calpliurnia mean? Good friend, we cannot tell. Nobody knows. 
Only this can be said about it, that if, as there seems no reason what- 
ever to doubt, it was the feminine form (slightly altered) of the name 
Calpurnius, it appears in the name of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, and 
another, not at present remembered, as that of one of the original 
gentes, or clans, of which the Roman State was composed. In this 
way it carries us back to the times ante urds condita — before the city 
was founded — in other words, seven and a half centuries before Christ — 
and its form seems to indicate an Oscan or Etruscan parentage. As 
nothing of these languages remains to us but a few half-obliterated 






THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 363 

inscriptions, there is a very slim likelihood of our ever knowing more 
of it than we do. An ill-natured person would remark that probably 
it was the name of some big robber, and indicative of the qualities 
proper to such a personage ; but in the benignant charity of our 
nature we repudiate the supposition, and insist upon it that the name 
must have had a highly respectable meaning, since otherwise it would 
not be a fit appellation for the Golden America of California. 

At the time of our visit, says an instructive writer, the country of 
California altogether presented rather a singular appearance. Instead 
of a lively green hue, it had generally a tint of a light straw-colour, 
showing an extreme want of moisture. The drought had continued for 
eleven months, the cattle were dying in the fields, and the first view 
of California was not calculated to make a favourable impression either 
of its beauty or fertility. 

There is perhaps no other country where there is such a diversity of 
features, soil, and climate as California. The surface exhibits the 
varieties of lofty ranges of mountains, confined valleys, and extensive 
plains. On the coast a range of high land extends in length from 
Cape Mendocino to latitude 32 deg. N., and in breadth into the interior 
from ten to twenty miles. 

The valley of San Juan, of no great extent, lies between these hills 
and the Sierra, which is a low range of mountains. East of the Sierra 
is the broad valley|of the Sacramento, which is prolonged to the south 
as far as Mount San Bernardino, under the thirty-fourth parallel. 
Beyond this valley is the California range, which is a continuation of 
the Cascade range of Oregon, and whose southern summits are capped 
with snow. This range gradually decreases in height until it declines 
into hills of moderate elevation. To the east of the Californian 
mountains are the vast sandy plains, forming a wide trackless 
waste, destitute of everything that can fit it for the habitation of man 
or beast. 

The soil is as variable as the face of the country. On the coast 
range of hills there is little to invite the agriculturist, except in some 
vales of no great extent. These hills are, however, admirably adapted 
for raising herds and flocks, and are at present the feeding-grounds of 
numerous deer, elk, &c., to which the short sweet grass and wild oats 
that are spread over them afford a plentiful supply of food. ISTo 
attempts have been made to cultivate the northern part of this section, 
nor is it susceptible of being the seat of large agricultural operations. 



364 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

The valley of the Sacramento and that of San Juan are the most 
fruitful parts of California, particularly the latter, which is capable of 
producing wheat, Indian corn, rye, oats, &c., with all the fruits of the 
temperate and many of the tropical climates. It likewise offers fine 
pasture grounds for cattle. This region comprises a level plain from 
fifteen to twenty miles in width, extending from the bay of San 
Francisco beyond the mission of that name, north and south. This 
may be termed the garden of California ; but although several small 
streams and lakes serve to water it, yet in dry seasons or droughts, not 
only the crops but the herbage also suffers extremely, and the cattle 
are deprived of food. 

The Sierra affords little scope for cultivation, being much broken, 
barren, and sandy. It is in places covered with cedar, pine, and oak ; 
but it offers few inducements to the settler. The great valley of Sacra- 
mento next succeeds. It lies nearly parallel to the San Juan, and is 
watered by the San Joachim river and its branches. In this valley the 
Californian Indians principally dwell. The San Joachim receives its 
waters from the many streams that issue from the Californian range of 
mountains. These are well wooded, their base being covered with oaks, 
to which succeeds the red Californian C3dar, and after it, in a still 
higher region, pines, until the snows are encountered. On the eastern 
side of this range there is found very little timber, and in consequence 
of the want of moisture trees do not flourish, even on the west side. 
The inland plain constituting a large part of Upper California, is, 
according to all accounts, an arid waste, the few rivers that exist 
being periodical, and losing themselves in the sandy soil. 

In climate California varies as much if not even more than in 
natural features and soil. On the coast range it has as high a mean 
temperature in winter as in summer. The latter is in fact the coldest 
part of the year, owing to the constant prevalence of the north-west 
winds, which blow with the regularity of a monsoon, and are ex- 
ceedingly cold, damp, and uncomfortable, rendering fire often necessary 
for comfort in midsummer. This is, however, but seldom resorted to, 
and many persons have informed me that they have suffered more from 
cold at Monterey than in places of a much higher latitude. The 
climate thirty miles from the coast undergoes a great change, and in 
no part of the world is there to be found a finer or more equable one 
than in the valley of San Juan. It more resembles that of Andalusia, 
in Spain, than any other, and none can be more salubrious. The cold 



THE GOLDEN AMEKICAS. 



365 



winds of the coast have become warmed, and have lost their force and 
violence, though they retain their freshness and purity. This strip of 
country is that in which the far-famed missions have been established ; 
and the accounts of these have led many to believe that the whole of 
Upper California was well adapted for agricultural uses. This is not 
the case, for the small district already pointed out is the only section 
of country where these advantages are to be found. This valley 
extends beyond the pueblo of San Juan, or to the eastward of Mon- 




IN CALIFORNIA. 



terey ; it is of no great extent, being about twenty miles long by twelve 
wide. The Sierra, which separates the valley of San Juan from that of 
Sacramento, is about one thousand five hundred feet high, barren and 
sandy. Pines cover its summit, and the climate is exceedingly dry and 
arid, though cooled by the fresh wind that passes beyond them. 

The Sacramento is the largest river in California. One of its 
branches, Destruction River, takes its rise near Mount Shaste, and has 
been examined throughout the whole of its course by land parties, until 
it joins the Sacramento. The Sacramento has its source in the eastern 
spurs of the Shaste Mountain. 

The first branch of any size in descending the Sacramento is that 
called Feather River, which joins it below the Prairie Butes, coming 
from the north-east. This branch takes its rise in the California 



366 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Mountains, near their northern end, and has a course of about forty 
miles. The American Eiver is a small branch that joins the Sacramento 
at New Helvetia. After receiving this stream, the Sacramento is joined 
by the San Joachim, which courses from the south, and below their 
confluence enters the bays of San Pablo and San Francisco. 

With regard to San Francisco city much criticism has been offered. 

It was to a Mons. Vioget that the astonishing idea of laying out a 
city upon the peninsula of San Francisco was first presented in a serious 
and business-like manner. The cause of his selection for the perfor- 
mance of a duty with which immortality is usually associated was that 
he was an engineer, and was in possession of the only instruments 
which could then be discovered in all Yerba Buena. It would perhaps 
be unjust to enter upon a criticism of his work till at least the circum- 
stances by which he was surrounded were recalled. Even in those 
early days there were men o"f faith in the scattered hamlet by the 
Golden Gate. They looked down upon the broad expanse of a noble 
bay, and they said to themselves — " As sites for cities are getting scarce, 
a great emporium must, sometime in the far-off future, spring up here." 
In imagination they beheld streets, and squares, and promenades take 
the ]3lace of the chapparal and the sand dunes by vrhich the face of 
Nature was covered, but without any very clear idea of the causes 
which were to promote their construction, or the manner in which the 
details were to be carried out. 

The basis for all these dreams was a few houses scattered about the 
peninsula. The engrossing subject of conversation was hides and 
tallow. The bells of the old mission tolled, every Sabbath, away in 
the distance, and the good missionaries celebrated their masses, it is 
to be feared, almost exclusively for the poor Indians, who found, to 
their great contentment and satisfaction, that Christianity was only 
another name for regular rations, duly and fairly distributed. The 
waters of the bay then washed the eastern line of Montgomery-street, 
and where stately structures now rise, boats were once beached. The 
peninsula, as you looked westward, presented the appearance of a lump 
of baker's dough which had been kneaded into fantastic hills and vales 
— a lump of baker's dough, too, which, after having been worked, had 
been forgotten so long that the green mould had begun to creep over it. 
For upon this windy tongue of land the forces of Nature had been 
operating through long geological ages. The westerly winds, blowing 
upon it with ceaseless moan for the greater part of every recurring 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 367 

year, liad rolled up the sand from the bottom of the quiet Pacific, and 
then, when it had been accumulated on the firm land, had fashioned it 
into the most grotesque shapes. 

It was upon a site so unpromising that Monsieur Vioget was 
called upon to lay out a city. The paper upon which he sketched his 
plan was level, and presented no impediment to the easy transit of 
the pencil. Over hill and dale he remorselessly projected his right 
lines. To his serene mind it made but very little difference that 
some of the streets which he had laid out followed the lines of a 
dromedary's back, or that others described semicircles — some up, 
some down — up Telegraph Hill from the eastern points of the city 
—up a grade which a goat could not travel — then down on the other 
side — then up Russian Hill, and then down sloping towards the 
Presidio. And this crossed with equally rigid lines, leaving grades for 
the description of which pen and ink are totally inadequate. He had 
before him the most beautiful and picturesque site for a city that 
could anywhere on the face of the earth be found — a cove entirely 
sheltered from norther or south-wester, with a lofty eminence on either 
side, and a high longitudinal ridge in the background. Wha,t if he 
had terraced these hills, and applied the rule and square only to the 
space lying between them ? But he executed the work assigned to him 
— ^he devised a plan by which every settler could with ease trac& 
the boundaries of his possessions, and placed all of the peninsula 
which it vfas then thought could be used in the course of a century for 
purposes of human habitation, in a marketable condition. He little 
knew, when he was at work with his compasses and rulers, that every 
line he drew would entail a useless expenditure of millions upon 
those who were to come after him ; and that he was then, in fact, 
squandering money at a rate that would have made a Monte Christa 
turn pale. 

His work was fair to look upon on paper — very difficult if not 
bewildering to follow out on foot. These streets pushed ahead with 
stern scientific rigour. Never did rising city start upon more imprac- 
ticable courses. It was to be a metropolis of uncertain if not jocular 
mood — -now showing itself in imposing grandeur as it gathered around 
some lofty eminence, and then utterly disappearing into some totally 
unimaginable concavity, leaving nothing on the horizon to catch the 
eye of the distant observer but a wretched tail of mean houses, 
gradually disappearing to the tops of the chimneys. 



J68 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



4 



But absurdly though the work of tracing out the lines for the future 
habitation of a large population was performed, it had its humanising 
effects upon the founders, apart altogether from the expectations of 
great profit, which the prospective sale of eligible lots, however lop- 
sided, engendered. They no longer regarded themselves as castaways 
upon an almost unknown shore. The picturesque confusion of a first 
settlement was indeed apparent. No intelligible plan of city could be 
imagined from the location of the few houses by which the peninsula 
was dotted ; but for all that, Stockton Street and Broadway had been 
successfully carried out ; and Montgomery, Kearny, and Dupont Streets 
were beginning to develop themselves. It was some consolation to the 
benighted founder, when endeavouring to clamber up the rough sides 
of Telegraph Hill on his way home, that, however surprising it might 
appear, he was then slowly making his way on all-fours, and fearful of 
broken bones and a cracked crown, really at the corner of Montgomery 
and Vallejo Streets, where palatial edifices were at that moment ger- 
minating, and which, though silent, weird, and forbidding at that 
hour, was destined to echo with the sounds of active, bustling life 
before long. 

The town did begin to spring up after Monsieur Vioget had fixed 
the manner in which it was to grow, but not with any great rapidity. 
Hides and tallow are very important articles of commerce ; but, how- 
ever great may be the demand for them, they are not capable of forcing 
the building of large cities in a very short space of time. The world 
needs leather for shoes, harness, and a variety of other purposes. 
There is a saying that "there is nothing like leather," but it is not 
universal in its application. Nor was the other staple to be despised. 
Millions of men still grope their way by the light of tallow candles. 
But young Yerba Buena had powerful and well-established rivals to 
contend with. The Russian Bear, enjoying a better location, was ex- 
tensively engaged in the business. If nothing had occurred to alter 
the course of things, a century would have elapsed even before Mon- 
sieur Vioget's plan had been carried out. But the news from the 
interior was becoming stranger, more exciting, and more bewildering 
every day. Discovery followed discovery in quick succession, and the 
shining gold began to flow this way in steady streams. Some obser- 
vations had been made on the climate, the capacity of the soil, and the 
facilities for commerce. There was a settled conviction that the far-off 
land of California would some day come into public notice ; but here 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 3G9 

was gold — the very article after which civilised man was in the hottest 
pursuit — the metal which represented everything : luxury, fine clothing, 
fine houses, lands, friends, doting wives, loving children, the respect of 
mankind here below, and heaven hereafter — in immense, incalculable, 
bewildering, intoxicating abundance, at their very doors ! "Who can 
estimate the force of the mad whirl of those early days, when it was 
first revealed that colossal fortunes were within the reach of all who 
had strength enough to wield a pickaxe and labour for a short time ? 
That social prominence which, in the older civilisations, the persons 
who then found themselves in California could not hope ever to achieve 
except by some extraordinary freak of good luck, was now within the 
grasp of every one of them — for deference, respect, and precedence 
wait humbly upon the happy possessor of gold in plenty. 

It did not take long to discern that the plan upon which Vioget 
had laid out the city was entirely unadapted to the site. A large 
amount of engineering knowledge was not necessary to enable any one to 
reach that conclusion. Mr. O'Farrell then took the matter in hand. He 
proposed to change the lines of the streets, so as to conform as much as 
possible to the topography, but his suggestions were not received with 
the favour which he expected. There was not an incipient millionaire 
then in all San Francisco who did not have safely locked up in his 
trunk the title-deeds to the lot or lots that were going to be the most 
valuable. It is possible that nobody had made up his mind as to the 
particular use for which his property would be required. It might be 
needed for a Custom House, or the Capitol of the new State, the germ 
of which Marshal] had found in the mill-stream, near Sutter's Fort, or 
some grand and inexplicable structure necessary to the new order of 
things. Whatever it might be, each settler's lot was the lot above all 
lots — sure to prove the focus of the new city, gradually unfolding its 
outlines into a vast metropolis. 

It is manifest that against such an uproar and jangling of interests 
no single man could make any headway. O'Farrell was obliged to 
content himself with securing the widening of the streets laid out by 
his predecessor, and then proceeded to lay off the southern portion in 
wide streets at right angles, which the flatness of that section fuUy 
justified. He found a nondescript plan of a city, and his first care was 
to supply it with a backbone, which, in the shape of Market-street, 
traverses the city from the eastern front as far west as it is likely to be 
closely built upon during the existence of the present generation, and 

2b 



370 THE GOLDEN AMEEICAS. 

tlien added on tlie other half. Probably posterity may forgive bim for 
running his right lines over Rincon and Townsend Street Hills with the 
same airy carelessness which Vioget manifested in respect to Telegraph 
and Russian Hills, when the difficulties under which he laboured are 
taken into consideration. 

It can hardly be expected that a plan conceived under the circum- 
stances above set forth, and carried out in the way we have briefly 
sketched, could have resulted in anything very complete in itself, or 
very pleasant to look upon. The stranger, as he paces the deck of the 
in-coming steamer at night — for a stranger among the Californians 
always takes the shape of a passenger by sea, and never of a solitary 
horseman slowly ascending a rugged pathway — is enraptured with the 
sight which San Francisco presents. As the steamer passes Black 
Point, the dull red haze upon which he had been gazing begins to 
assume shape and form ; when he rounds Clark's Point, a spectacle is 
revealed which more than repays him for all the dangers and hardships 
of the voyage. On either side of him rise Telegraph and Eincon Hills 
like luminous cones, while, in the background, towers above all Russian 
Hill in stories of light. ISTor is the illusion at all dissipated as he i& 
whirled from the wharf, through the well-lighted streets, to his hotel. 
Unfortunately, his enthusiasm is not destined to last long. When he 
comes to walk abroad in the full light of day, he sees fine structures^ 
it is true— stores brilliant enough for Broadway or the Boulevards, and 
a style of architecture more elegant and graceful than is generally to 
be found in American cities, particularly in the case of private 
dwellings, and well-built though somewhat dirty streets. But as soon 
as he begins to trace out the lines of the great thoroughfares, he finds 
that Nature, wherever he turns, has been cut and slashed, dug down 
and filled up, out of existence ; unsightly defiles confront him wherever 
he goes. Here he finds a house barely peeping over the side-walks, 
and evidently straining itself in the operation ; while five good stories 
are revealed in the rear. Others still, elevated in so reckless and 
impertinent a manner, above grade, as to be suggestive rather of a 
pigeon-house than a human habitation — ready to descend the moment 
they are summoned by the remorseless contractor. From the first error 
there is, of course, no escape. San Francisco will have to grow in 
accordance with the lines originally marked out for her. 

The extraordinary influx of Chinese is a marked feature in San 
Francisco city. The Sa7i Francisco Bulletin says : — " In the first eight 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 371 

montlis of 1869 our net gain of population by sea arrivals has been 
'21,624:. Of this number a larger proportion than usual were Chinese, 
the whole number of that people who arrived being in the neighbourhood 
of 11,000. This figure, however, ought not to be taken as representing 
net gain, for what with the return of Chinese to their own country and 
the departure of many to other States and Territories, there has 
probably been little addition to the number of Chinese in the State a 
year ago. If the exact number of Chinese that arrived in eight months 
this year was 11,000, that would give an average of 1,375 a month, 
and the same ratio for the remaining four months of 1869 would make 
a total of 16,500. With one exception, this is a larger number of 
Chinese than ever arrived in California in one year. As long ago as 
1852 the total number of Chinese arrivals at this port was 18,434 ; and 
the excess of arrivals over departures was 16,378. The next largest 
arrival was in 1854, when over 15,000 were landed here and 12,677 
remained. The arrivals during the five years previous to 1869 showed 
a considerable falling off as compared with all earlier years up to 1852 ; 
while the ratio of departures to arrivals was larger, and, with the 
deaths, effected a considerable reduction of the Chinese population of 
California. But for the marked increase in arrivals during the present 
year we should be warranted in assuming that the Chinese immigration 
was abating. From the best information obtainable the number of 
arrivals in the last 16 years gives an average of 6,531 per annum. In 
1866 the arrivals were as low as 2,355 ; and the arrivals from 1864 to 
1868 show an average of only 3,219 per annum, and the excess of 
arrivals over departures was only 994 per annum. These statements 
tend to show that so long as the Chinese movement to America is clear 
of any external forcing influence, and left to its own impulse, it does 
not threaten an undue influx," They have their own quarter, and 
there reap a good harvest 

The Chinese have many holidays, and they seem to appreciate them. 
"Weddings and funerals are improved as occasions for rest and for 
feasting. Of course, at funerals, the near relatives who are especially 
bereaved, and who feel their loss, can have little enjoyment, and, so 
far as they are concerned, the term holiday would be inappropriate ; 
but this is far from being the case with all who assemble to witness the 
funeral ceremonies, and to partake of the feasts, which have first been 
spread for the repast of the spirit of the dead, as well as for any other 
spirits that may choose to partake. 



372 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

There are saints' days, or birthdays of the gods, many times more 
than enough to fill all the days of the calendar ; and whenever any 
person or family feels religiously inclined, or can afford the time and 
expense, they may, in China, hear of gatherings at some one or other 
of their numerous temples. The first and fifteenth of every month are 
observed by many as religious seasons. More people resort to the 
temples at these periods than at others. 

The times of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and of the winter 
and summer solstices, are noted by the Chinese, when more than usual 
activity is observed about the temples; more people than usual are 
seen in the streets with the sticks of incense, gilt papers, candles, and 
other offerings on their way to the shrines of the gods. Ancestors and 
household divinities are especially remembered at these seasons. Our 
market-men may have noticed that at these times there is a much 
greater call for ducks and chickens by their Chinese customers ; and 
those engaged in efforts to educate and evangelise this people have 
occasion to notice that their congregations and schools are thinner 
when these holidays occur on the Sabbath, or near the beginning or 
end of the week. Of the equinoxes and solstices, the winter solstice is 
observed more generally and with more enthusiasm than the others ; 
more people buy poultry, the tem^Dles have more visitors, the theatres 
are open day and night, and are more crowded, and more of the house- 
servants ask to "go and see their cousins." 

On the fifteenth of the eighth month, at night — the season of our 
harvest moon — this luminary is an object of adoration by people from 
their open windows ; and in the courts, and from the balconies of their 
houses. 

The proprietors of the little temples in San Francisco are ac- 
customed, at various times, to extemporise special performances, in 
order to attract a multitude of worshippers, and thus replenish their 
revenue by the sale of candles, prayers, incense-sticks, gilt paper, and 
the like. They also receive much in the form of subscriptions and 
presents. The ceremonies continue for three or four days, and crowds 
throng about the premises day and night. Almost every Chinaman in 
the city will so manage as to get some respite from his labours and 
cares to visit the temple, and perhaps treat himself to a sort of feast, 
or, at least, he will be more liberal in the supply of his table at such 
times than at others. 

The arrival of friends from China, and the leave-taking when 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 



373 



friends are about embarking for home, are made occasions for social 
gatherings and for f eastings. Formerly these occurrences were more 
irregular than at present, for the sailing ships might arrive and depart 
at any time ; but now, since the monthly steamers come and go with 
considerable punctuality, the Chinamen look forward to the days of 




SKETCH IN TEE CHINESE QUARTER. 



arrival and departure with great interest, and there are many who 
make this an occasion to take a whole or a half holiday for the purpose 
of seeing neighbours or relatives fresh from the place where they were 
born, and gathering from them all manner of news and gossip ; while 
in the case of those who are about to return they have many letters to 
write and many messages to deliver, and they must needs eat and drink 
together before they separate. 



374 THE GOLDEN AJMERICAS. 

In China the people have no Sabbath, but in California they 
conform, in some measure, to the customs of the people. In the mines 
many work steadily on through the Sabbath, the same as on other 
days, while others imitate the example of too many of the miners, and 
take the day for cleaning up their gold, and for washing, mending, 
marketing, bargaining, and adjusting accounts. Labourers in the 
employment of those who keep the Sabbath often take the day for 
visiting, gambling, opium-smoking, for washing and mending, or for a 
walk about the town ; while a few go to their church, or assemble at 
the schools established for them. There is some reading done on this 
day, with much writing of letters and a large amount of sleeping ; 
while with the merchants it is a day for collections and for writing up 
their accounts. Amongst the employes along the line of the raUroad, 
the Sunday is a day on which many pigs and fowls are brought to 
grief, as this seems to be the butchering day in those Chinese camps, 
while those not occupied in butchering and in preparations for an 
extra dinner, and not employed in repairing garments, amuse themselves 
with games, or enjoy their pipes. 

Chief of the Chinese holidays, or rather that which eclipses all 
the rest, is the festival of the New Year. On this occasion all China 
abandons itself to merry-making, one feu-de-joie resounds throughout 
the Empire ; from north to south, from east to west, the country is 
wreathed in clouds of smoke perfumed with incense or laden with the 
smell of powder ; while every habitation looks gay with its red and 
tinseUed paper fluttering in the breeze. Every Chinaman, whatever his 
business or his social position, and in whatever part of the world he 
may be, will claim at least this one holiday during the year. 

The Chinese compute their ages from the beginning of the year. 
A child born any time during this year will be called two years old on 
and after the next New Year's day, and after the following New Year 
he will be called three years old, so that there wiU, as we see, be some 
children said to be three years old who have not yet seen three hun- 
dred and sixty-six days. 

The New Year is a period which is held in anticipation for weeks, 
or even months ; indeed, the whole business of the year is conducted 
with the grand settlement day in view, when aU liabilities must be met, 
and all debts paid, so that every person may be able to conunence the 
succeeding twelve months with a genuine happy New Year ; no one 
grieving over broken hopes, none angry with creditors who have failed 



THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 375 

to fulfil tlieir promises, and none chagrined because they are unable to 
meet their obligations. This leads us to speak more particularly 
concerning the preparation for this grand festival. 

First of all is the financial question, ' ' Whom do I owe, and who 
owes me ? Can I meet all my liabilities, and will my debtors pay me ?" 
The business is closely watched, and the books carefully written up 
and often examined, and an account of stock is taken. Collectors are 
early sent to any doubtful parties ; in conversations v>dth honest and 
solvent debtors such allusions are made to former transactions and 
future necessities that they may not be in danger of overlooking " that 
little bill ;" while accounts of long standing are again taken from the 
file, and fresh efforts are made to press some drops of pay from the 
oldest and least hopeful subjects. The San Francisco merchants 
increase their collecting force, who traverse the State, and who visit 
Oregon and Nevada, and penetrate the snow regions of Montana ; nor 
are they deterred by any obstacles when there is before them a prospect 
of securing the settlement of an account. The express companies 
find the Chinese department of their business very brisk about these 
days, occasioned by the quantity of letters going out, and the amount 
of treasure coming in. 

Happy is that man who can close the year with no duns at the 
door, and no creditor's anathemas to pursue him to spoil the New 
Year's festivities; happy is that firm whose balance-sheet is evenly 
poised, while cash in the safe and the goods in readiness for future use 
are gratifying evidence of the favour with which their god of wealth 
has served them. 

As the year approaches its close, careful observers will notice how 
lean the stock is growing on the shelves of some of the stores in the 
Chinese quarter, and what a haggard, anxious look their occupants 
begin to wear ; and if they follow up their observations they will see 
how appearances grow worse, until the "evening of the year" finds 
the premises closed, and the proprietors non est inventus. 

It is not uncommon for those who have no means for meeting their 
liabilities to secrete themselves until the Old Year has fully expired and 
the New Year has come in, for during the New Year's congratulations 
and merrymakings no duns are tolerated. He who on such a day could 
have the temerity to present a bill, or to hint that any person's enter- 
tainment might relish better were it paid for, would be deemed un- 
worthy the interchange of civilities with gentlemen. 



376 THE GOLDEN AMERICAS. 

Not only do the people strive to close the year with all old scores 
wiped out and accounts adjusted between man and man, but they 
wish also to come to a settlement with the gods ; therefore the unusual 
activity about the temples, and the throngs of men, women, and 
children passing to and fro in their best attire, with baskets of incense- 
sticks and other offerings, and therefore also the constant and abundant 
clouds of incense around the shrines of the household divinities and 
the ancestral tablets. These religious rites are hurried on as the year 
draws to its close, partly because of the tradition which all have heard, 
and which many believe, that before the close of the year — say on the 
twenty-sixth of the twelfth month — the local deities all gather up their 
accounts and journals, and ascend to " report" to the Supreme Kuler, 
the Pearly Emperor ; and that they do not return till the first of the 
first month, and some say not till even a later day. 

One feature of a Chinese New Year in San Francisco, of which account 
may be made, is the number of callers from amongst the Yankees them- 
selves. The merchants appear highly delighted to see and welcome all 
the citizens whom they can recognise as friends, and all with whom they 
have had any kind of business connections ; and to provide for such 
calls, a large stock of wines, cigars, and other refreshments has been 
secured. It should be noted, however, that liquors and. cigars are not 
usually offered to the callers of their own race, but only to the wMte 
people. Many entire strangers enter the stores merely from curiosity, 
and they also are treated with the same hospitality, and even with a 
cordiality usually extended to old acquaintances. They are likewise 
exposed to a raid from that class who are always thirsty, who go from 
house to house washing their throats with champagne and brandy, 
taking at each place a cigar or two, while troops of boys and half- 
grown men, who, at other times, pelt and hoot at " John " when they 
meet him alone, and where they will not be in danger of arrest, are 
clamorous for cigars, fire-crackers, and sweetmeats. 

And in the midst of this animated and enlivening scene, we take 
fareweU of The Golden A^iekicas. 



^^ 



7 






s-^.O 











V^S?^o^ ; „ ^ V'^'l^'V^ . >:^?!^^o^ 



8 I A 



/, C^ 



oA.^re'/y '' 



■^/. .^' 



=*^-'3^ 



.^^ .^I. 










•n . N c 








.^ : '^o 0^ : ^; 



^ = o^ 



'^^ 'ci- 



"^ .v^- 



^,^' :g^i:%'\ 













i^r i^-iiff* 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

liilllllllilllllllllllH^^^^^^^^ 

015 844 771 A 



ill 



Sill I 

:;^^^' ill ly 
i:i;rii ill i ifHli 




